Trott credits rise to cutting drink

England batsman Jonathan Trott has said that his career might have never taken off if he hadn't decided to cut down on his drinking.

"I used to go nuts and it affected the image people had of me," Trott said in an interview with the Cricketer. "It used to cloud my judgement, not just that night, but for days afterwards."

Trott, 30, has been prolific for England since his international debut in 2009. He currently has Test and one-day averages of 62.23 and 52.44 respectively, making him one of the most successful batsmen going around, but admitted his drinking could have become an issue if he hadn't nipped it in the bud.

"I still have the occasional beer or glass of wine but, when it comes to nights out, you probably won't find me around them. It can be quite tough but the guys in the team understand. In the past I'd have been at the front of the queue [for a drink]. But I honestly don't think I'd be sitting here today if I did still drink."

Trott is currently a certainty in the England Test line-up, though his inability to score at a brisk pace is held against him in one-day debates.

"It's something I'm working on with Andy [Flower] and Graham [Gooch]," said Trott, who has a strike-rate of 78.40 in the ODI format. "It's about weighing up the best option. Sometimes I err on the side of caution too much."