So with Trott failing spectacularly across the whole series, the Poms now need to pick a new opener for the series against New Zealand. It's either the unproven Adam Lyth, or Sam 'I really should have played for Australia' Robson.
Their whole batting lineup fills me with confidence this winter:
Cook - Well and truly past his best.
Trott - Gone. Whoever comes in will be in the firing line from minute one.
Ballance - Flat track bully.
Bell - Past his best.
Root - Only one worth feeding currently.
Moeen - Talented, but in the side for his bowling not batting.
Stokes - Has gone downhill rapidly since the Ashes here.
Butler - Good counter-attacker but still more of an ODI player.
I wouldn't go the sky is falling yet.
The next 7 tests will be played on home soil. Chances are most of the wickets will be flat to nullify Southee, Boult and Johnson somewhat.
Cook will never replicate his 2010 ashes form. But he is far from finished. his past 10 innings have averaged a tick over 52 with 1 century and 5 fifties. Though he will be under enormous pressure for the ashes.
Correct Ballance thrives on flat tracks and his 62 average will come down. But he can be quite stubborn to remove.
Bell rocks and diamonds. Which for a player with his vast array of shot selections is a disgrace. Bell would be one of the few players playing today that can adjust his game to suit all conditions. He is very strong all around the wicket but he has way too much rubbish in his game.
Root is all class a once in a generation player.
Stokes has talent but has been handled very badly by the coaching staff.
Moeen's not a bad bowler he surprised many last year with 19 wickets against India. He seems to be struggling coming back from abdominal injury. The jury is still out on his batting but he showed great resolve scoring an unbeaten century against Sri Lanka last year when most of his team-mates threw in the towel.
Buttler is a good hitter but needs to be cleaner behind the stumps. He offers more than Prior who is past it now.
Broad is struggling with bat and ball. Should be dropped to fire him up but Eng don't have the depth
Anderson chimes in when the conditions suit him and gets his wickets in chucks then he goes missing for a few matches.
Eng have no 3rd seamer. Jordan is a long way off being a quality test bowler and Plunkett offers little.
The time Lyth comes in to debut he will have played no decent cricket for a month, a task made harder for his test debut.
