Jonathan Trott: I'd settle for 'dour' Ashes victory

"The English mentality is, if you win, you should have won better. Or if you play well and win, the opposition were bad," he says.

"We're not brave enough to pat ourselves on the back. Even when we do win, we get questioned."

It riles Trott. He's not one to get over-excited, but there is a clear frustration as England prepare to defend the Ashes.

On Thursday they start their bid in Brisbane just 88 days since they lifted the Urn at a rapidly-darkening Oval.

They stand on the brink of history, aiming to become the first England team to win a fourth straight Ashes series since 1890.

But Aussie coach Darren Lehmann called their 3-0 summer win dour and ex-captain Michael Vaughan insisted they failed to reach their peak.

Trott admits that. He knows there is more to come but, like most of the squad, is baffled by the lukewarm reaction to their summer win.

They won universal acclaim for their 3-1 win in Australia three years ago. Now the nation is ready to watch as England bid to repeat the feat.

"If you look at the summer from our point of view you wouldn't call it dour, but if you look at it from the Australians' they like to play the media and feed the media their sort of stuff," he says. "Their coach is on Twitter and ours isn't, so I think that sums it up pretty much.

"There are always other things round the corner or other things to find a negative. But when we went to Australia last time, we hadn't won there for 20-odd years and we won in India after being 1-0 down.

"The one-day series we won in New Zealand was the first time we'd done that in 20 years and they play good cricket.

"This team has done some good stuff and I'm proud to be part of that. I'm proud to have played a hand in a few of those things. We're very good at keeping in our own bubble and there's always outside influences who want to get in and distract us. Going to Australia is going to be important. Cricket there is like football here, so it's on the front pages too.

"It's almost like going to India because it's on the front and the back pages while here in England – unless it's something really dramatic or a good story – it's always behind football."

Rationality is often skipped in sport and, while the team were questioned, Trott was also scrutinised in the summer for the first time – a sign of the standard he had set.

He averaged 30, with his previous against the Aussies a mammoth 86.42. The 32-year-old readily admits he has worked hard since Australia's bowlers starved him of scoring opportunities on his favoured leg side.

In 10 innings spanning almost 13 hours he scored 293 runs, his top knock 59 at the Oval, with his overall Test average dropping to 47.39.

And the question provokes a reaction, a smile which says it was expected but is not something he needs to justify. "That's the expectations people have – if I'd averaged 50 then you would have asked that question," he says, leaning back in his chair.

"There's always pressure playing for England, you always need runs. You can't just go: 'Ah, I'll get runs next time.'

"I started well, you have to remember the summer blended into New Zealand, so our summer sort of started in February. I went there, did well in the Tests and ODIs. I had a good Champions Trophy, too.

"Things didn't go my way against Australia. I had a rough-ish dismissal at Trent Bridge and from there it didn't go my way, though I got a couple of 50s.

"We were 30-3 at Lord's and Belly (Ian Bell) and I put on a 100-odd partnership; again it was a pressure situation where I wasn't batting that well but ground it out.

"I averaged 30 and to do that in a Test series is not the end of the world. I didn't get the runs I thought I should have in the Ashes, for a few reasons. I've worked on a few technical things and hopefully ironed them out."

The perseverance shows there's nothing flashy about the batsman – his Twitter account isn't even verified – but he has a certain understated charisma. Everything is dealt with in the same tone, be it his debt to Warwickshire ahead of his benefit year after more than a decade of service or his debut Test ton against Australia in 2009.

Since then Trott has played 47 other Tests, all viewed with the same steely look and all treated as one – including the Ashes. "It is important you keep it like that. It's not an Ashes, it's just another game, even if it's Brisbane and going to be exciting," he says.

"I remember walking out in Brisbane in the first Test and we were 0-1 in the first over (in 2010-11) so you can't go out thinking: 'Crikey, it's Brisbane and the first Test of an Ashes.' You'll get yourself in trouble mentally. You have to go out there and pretend you're playing for Warwickshire and there's no-one there watching. Just play and hit the ball. It is tunnel vision.

"If you start thinking about the cameras you realise there are millions watching and that adds even more pressure.

"I remember going out in The Oval in 2009, my debut, and it was the most fun I'd had.

"I'd never played in white clothes in front of that many people. In whites you'd play four-day county cricket and it would be empty. It was the most fun I had on a field, the most exciting, and it was my first Test.

"You never know until you're there and you can never say: 'I think I'll do well,' but I did.

"That's what made me think: 'Maybe I can do this, maybe I can play.' That's the most important thing, self-belief and the belief you can fit in."

Modest and meticulous, Trott goes some way to embodying the current English set-up, a flamboyant Kevin Pietersen aside.

Victory Down Under would be the first time in 123 years England have won four straight Ashes series.

Again it is met with a typical Trott nonchalant tone, even if his words underline the achievement within their grasp.

"A lot of players could win it for a fifth time, Belly, KP – guys have the opportunity to do that. That's really special," he says. "As a team we're pretty good at keeping ourselves grounded. We play good cricket, we don't try to be too flashy, everyone knows their roles.

"We were close in the Champions Trophy (a five-run defeat to India in the final) and that still hurts.

"We would have had our first one-day trophy and we'd have done well individually. To contribute to a team win would have been good. But, hey, there's a World Cup around the corner and we can make up for it there."

It is the first time Trott allows himself to look beyond the Ashes, impressive given the personal milestone he reaches with Warwickshire. Next season he will be the club's beneficiary to mark 12 years of service since he smashed 245 runs in a second-team trial in 2002.

Trott was dropped early but earned a deal and plundered 134 on his County Championship debut against Sussex the next year.

The transition from young pretender to established international was not easy, though. He was once accused by then-director of cricket Ashley Giles of being too selfish, revelling in his own success rather than that of the team.

And even after spending two hours in his company, Trott can appear blunt just as much as he is friendly.

But he insists a decade in Birmingham, after moving from South Africa, has changed him. The scorer of 7,947 runs with an average of 46.47 in 120 first-class games for the Bears, he is also the club's top scorer in T20.

And he will feature in more T20 games next season after the format was switched to Friday nights with the ECB allowing their centrally contract stars to play.

It is something Trott is keen to do. It is quite clear he misses the Bears, wanting to give back more than he can while away with England.

And as the rain starts to flood the Edgbaston pitch, he is content after what he believes was the best decision of his life.

"I was a lot different when I first arrived here – as a character and a cricketer. This place moulds you," he says.

"I was a lot more impatient at first. I wanted everything straight away.

"I was very determined – as I am today – but I wasn't sure how to go about it. There were a lot of times I hit my head against the wall, had to dust myself down again and Warwickshire allowed me to do that. There were some frustrating times and I was very lucky I had the guidance of some people who believed in me.

"You know when something feels right. Bob (Woolmer) came over and said: 'I want you to play for Warwickshire.'

He said: 'Playing here will give you the best chance to play for England and be the best international player you can be.' That's why I owe a lot to the club because it has allowed me to do that and I have met some special people.

"The people in the club and everything that goes with it, the history, the members, the committee and all the great traditions mould you to who you are. There were lots of moments when I struggled. I was very fortunate I had a very understanding captain and person in Michael Powell when I arrived here. As a batsman and a captain he didn't have to sign me, because it was more competition and I ended up taking his place to some degree. He could have said: 'No, I'll look after myself, let's sign some more bowlers.' He was fantastic for me and he was someone along with John Inverarity – who is the Australian chairman of selectors now – and Nick Knight who really helped me.

"It's an interesting journey, the rigours of county cricket and having aspirations to play for England. I remember arriving for my trial game. It was the middle of 2002 and I sat where the old Tom Dollery bar was, looking over the field thinking: 'Wouldn't this be great if I could make it my home?'

"Growing up in South Africa you had the likes of Alan Donald, Bob Woolmer, Shaun Pollock and I always wanted to play for Warwickshire. It just so happens I've played the majority of my cricket here.

"I was confident I could do it. When I packed it in in South Africa I'd only organised one trial game – and that was with Warwickshire. It was the old terminology 'eggs in one basket' to the extreme because if I hadn't done well, who knows what would have happened? As it happened I got offered a contract.

"It's a really pleasing thing having the goal but to fulfil it makes it extra special."

That is next year though and the more pressing action starts on Thursday. And as he rises, Trott underlines the England squad mentality. "I'll take another dour 3-0 win in Australia," he smiles.

Email info@jonathantrott.co.uk for more details on Trott's benefit year.