'Know when to hit and when to leave' - Jonathan Trott on long-format batting
The former England opener believes the patient innings should not be going out of fashion anytime soon but achieving a balance is necessary

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When I was growing up, it was all about the defence first. Nowadays these younger players play so much white-ball cricket apart from watching so much of it, because of how much it's available on television and highlight shows. But sometimes you need to practise the basics of defence just as much. I think it's a little bit of a role-reversal now. Our job as a coach is to remind them of the basics and help them work on the defence because at the younger age they seem to be more expansive. So I think as coaches, it's just as much our responsibility from the grassroots level to stress on the importance of defence.
Not at all. These days you see guys being more positive against spin and that comes from playing a lot of one-day cricket where they explore different options on how to hit boundaries and where they can hit spinners. Yes, that's probably not the traditional way how you play Test cricket. But I think exploring your options of hitting the spinners is just as important as your defence against them - the basics. Especially in subcontinent conditions, it is important. As a Test batsman, it's crucial to have a balance between both of that.
Yes. Nowadays it's very rare that you get guys who play just one format of the game. They're always going to play T20s and 50-overs. That's also a case of not realising there's a huge opportunity for the longer format of the game as well. And that's also mostly because of the glitz and glamour of international leagues around the world. I still think people would say Test cricket is the pinnacle of international cricket. Yes, it's a lot tougher than 20 overs. It requires a lot of patience, determination and effort, that's why it's the ultimate. You ask anybody. Even Virat Kohli said that on the tour of England.
In England, we first need to find the right balance in county cricket concerning the importance we put on four-day cricket. Now it's [also] being played around April and September [at the start and end of the English season], which [due to the conditions] is obviously not very helpful for batsmen, especially the ones sitting in the top three. The top three batters got to make it a habit to spend a lot more time at the crease, which would help them set up the innings and all of that. It's an art and a skill, so we need to get that right.
"This is where we need to go back to the basics - to stay longer and practise your defence. It might also help the four-day games go on for four days instead of finishing in two"
Yes, it's a typical case of them not doing the basics well for longer. That's what Test cricket is about. It's about the ability to outplay the opposition or just the ability to grow amidst the grown, like batting a long period of time. Like what an Alastair Cook did and various other players did.
Of course, but you can't teach them how to play. I just stress that they need to know their game when they get the chance. Imagine it's a high-pressure situation, you're highly scrutinised now more than ever. You've got to have just one game and be confident when you step out when you play for England. That's all I say.
All of these guys wouldn't be here if they weren't in the thoughts of the selectors already. It's then about those who excel here. And if they go back to England and excel there as well, with the Ashes and World Cup around the corner they would be making a strong case.
It's a very different case with someone like Dom Bess who's a spin bowler but Ollie Pope is a very ambitious young guy who seems to have a bright future. But to make sure of that when he does get the opportunity at Test level, the first thing he should do is to be ready and then he has to look to become a permanent fixture. There's nothing better than batting in the top 4-5 in Tests for England, so that's what he wants to do by the looks of it. He's going about it in the right way.
Sruthi Ravindranath is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo