Trott named ECB's cricketer of the year

Jonathan Trott has been named England's cricketer of the year at the annual ECB awards function, held at Lord's on Tuesday. The award, voted for by the British cricket media, is given to the player with the greatest impact upon England's performances from the start of the 2010 international season until the end of the World Cup.

"I am both extremely humbled and proud to have been named England cricketer of the year after what has clearly been the most enjoyable year of my cricketing career so far," Trott said. "It is an honour to represent England and it has been a privilege to be involved in such a successful, hard-working team.

"I wouldn't have won this award without the commitment and support of my team-mates. This award really belongs to the entire England squad and management team that have provided such a supportive and professional environment that has allowed me to prosper as a cricketer and a person. There is still much hard work to be done and improvement to be made and I look forward to making further contributions to a successful England team for a long as possible."

During the assessment period, Trott played 32 matches for England across formats, scoring an astonishing 2246 runs at an average of 68.06. While his Test prowess has never been in doubt, Trott's success in ODIs came as a surprise to some who questioned his skills in the format. He aggregated 422 runs in the 2011 World Cup, averaging 60.29 with five half-centuries in seven games.

He has carried his good form into the new season, hitting a double-century in England's dramatic innings victory in the first Test against Sri Lanka, in Cardiff. That left him with a Test average of 66.67 - second only to that Donald Bradman's mark of 99.94 among batsmen who've played at least 20 Test innings.

"I don't think about that. I find numbers are for people to look back on afterwards," insisted Trott. "I don't focus on my average. As a youngster I used to set myself goals - 1,000 runs by a certain point, so many by the end of the season. But what happens is you go out and take guard in April and you think you are miles away from that number, and you put unnecessary pressure on yourself.

"There's lots more to life than cricket, but at the moment it is very important to me," he added. "I just try to do the best I can, without putting any massive goals ahead of me."

After a handful of Twenty20s, Trott was handed a Test debut in the pressure cooker of an Ashes Test and responded in fine fashion, cracking 119 in the second innings at The Oval to help ensure that England reclaimed the urn in 2009.

"Career-wise, you don't really start playing your best until you're about 27, so I was quite fortunate to get picked when I was 28. I'd been a work in progress. At the end of 2007, I sat down with [Warwickshire coach, and England selector] Ashley Giles - and we planned about how we were going to go about making me one of the best players in England.

"I'd had a try [in limited-overs matches for England] but wasn't ready then - and in a way, that was a good thing. It made me realise how far I had to go. I was sure I had the talent to do it but I wasn't sure how I was going to get that best out of myself. It was all about having a plan, how I was going to go about it."

Lydia Greenway was adjudged England women's cricketer of the year, while Umesh Valjee won the award for the best disabled cricketer.