Debut ton stands out in Trott’s top three Test match knocks

After a career of 52 Test matches, 3,835 runs, and nine centuries, it would be a terrible shame if all Jonathan Trott was remembered for were the dark days of the 2013 Ashes whitewash, his stress-related absence from the game and his valiant, but failed, attempt at an international comeback.

After scoring 72 runs in his three-match return against West Indies, in which half of his six knocks were ducks, Trott announced his retirement from international cricket with immediate effect.

While paying tribute to the Warwickshire man, Alastair Cook commented that to even get back to a position where he warranted a recall was a mark of the man’s ability and character.

In keeping with that thinking, news.ladbrokes will honour the man who dug a trench for a guard with his three best 100s ranked in reverse order:

3) 203 vs Sri Lanka at Cardiff, May 2011

This wasn’t Trott’s highest Test match score (he hit 226 against Bangladesh at Lord’s) but it was his highest in an England win.

After Sri Lanka spent the best part of two days compiling 400 in the first innings, Trott came to the crease early on the third morning and settled down to business, taking care of half of England’s deficit on his own.

By the end of that day’s play he was 125 not out and in a seemingly unbreakable partnership with Cook.

When Cook finally departed on day four, the pair had amassed 251 runs, but Trott ploughed on to give England a 96-run lead. Chris Tremlett and Graeme Swann then sparked a stunning Sri Lankan collapse to seal a bolt-from-the-blue win.

2) 168* vs Australia at Melbourne, December 2010

Trott played five more Test matches against Australia during his career than he did against any other side. Despite the troubles Mitchell Johnson caused him most recently, he was very successful against them too.

One of his most memorable knocks came in the 3-1 Ashes win Down Under, as England secured the largest of their three innings victories.

Coming to the crease on the second morning at 159-1, Trott batted the entire day and then some of the third to keep the pressure firmly on Australia during the fourth Test.

His ability to bat time while collecting runs hurt the hosts greatly and set up a famous victory to help England retain the urn.

1) 119 vs Australia at The Oval, August 2009

Without doubt, Trott’s best ton in an England shirt was his first, in the pressure-cooker situation of an Ashes decider, on debut.

A somewhat contentious call up after a heavy innings defeat at Headingley, Trott soon had the romantics calling for a Mark Ramprakash or Marcus Trescothick recall eating their words.

In England’s second innings, batting at number five, Trott belied his debutant status to compile an assured and composed century of a 10-year veteran, guiding his adopted side away from danger and towards a series victory.

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