Coach Arthur says Trott fit only for Proteas' Second XI, England

Cape Town (South Africa), Aug.18 (ANI): South African cricket team coach Mickey Arthur has said that Warwickshire opener Jonathan Trott is not good enough to play for South Africa.

In a blunt assessment of England's newest Test batsman, Arthur said Cape Town-born Trott would at best be playing for South Africa's Second XI despite representing the same national under-19s side as Proteas skipper Graeme Smith.

"He had come through the ranks, certainly Jonathan Trott was good enough to be there or thereabouts, but he certainly wouldn't be replacing anybody in our top six," Arthur told the Herald last night.

"He would probably be pottering around for our SAS [South Africa Seconds] side. For him, it's probably been a good career move to go to England," Arthur said.

Trott will make his Test debut in the fifth and deciding Ashes match at The Oval, likely assuming the No.4 batting role vacated by another South African-born star, Kevin Pietersen.

Trott will become England's ninth South African-born Test player, following the likes of skippers Andrew Strauss and Tony Greig.

It is a fact not lost on Arthur and the South African cricket hierarchy. "It is sad when players go over because it erodes our depth," Arthur said.

"We have put in place structures now to ensure we keep the players we want. Someone like (paceman) Wayne Parnell, who was clearly going to be good enough, would not escape the loop now," he said.

Trott, 28, has enjoyed a marvellous resurgence in English first-class cricket in the past two years, scoring 2286 runs.

This season alone he is averaging 92.06 for Warwickshire, making him the standout candidate to replace Ravi Bopara.

Trott has credited 2005 Ashes spinner Ashley Giles, now Warwickshire's director of cricket, for moulding him into England's 645th Test player.

"We sat down when he was appointed as head coach and set out a plan for the future, compiled a list of my strong points and my weak points, and that gave me a direction of how to get back into the [England] team," said Trott, who represented England in two Twenty20s against the West Indies in 2007. (ANI)