Trott sees England gain from ‘lose-lose’ situation

England batsman Jonathan Trott insisted the side had made the best out of a ‘lose-lose’ situation after their Ashes warm-up match against Essex was stripped of its first-class status on the third day of four.
Essex saw seamers David Masters and Tymal Mills leave the field Tuesday with Achilles and hamstring injuries respectively before part-time off-spinner Tom Westley was unable to bowl after dislocating a finger fielding at gully.

At that point England’s batsmen, facing a severely weakened attack, were not getting the sort of preparation coach Andy Flower wanted them to have ahead of next week’s first Test against Australia at Trent Bridge.

But seamers Boyd Rankin and Reece Topley, left out by England and Essex respectively from their original XIs, were still at Chelmsford and this allowed the pair to be drafted into the county’s attack.
England captain Alastair Cook (82) and Trott (79) did both face a tougher time at the crease Tuesday in playing Rankin and Topley than might otherwise have been the case. They both retired out anyway as England ended a rain-shortened third day of four on 217 for three in their second innings, a lead of 352.

‘Obviously, two bowlers down, it can be quite tricky for a captain -- a long season and down to Ravi (Bopara) and Saj Mahmood,’ said Trott.

‘You don’t want to bowl Saj into the ground, for 15 overs straight or something like that. ‘If it hadn’t been done, you’d probably be asking me ‘Is it the right preparation, having only one frontline bowler available to come at you before a first Ashes Test match?’ ‘It’s a lose-lose situation probably. But I thought the right thing has been done.