Was I alone in complete ignorance of Jonathan Trott's illness? It was certainly a shock to read that he had returned home following the Brisbane debacle, a game in which he had copped the worst of the sledging and indeed criticism by the more discerning journalists.
That the news of Trott's longstanding battle with his own demons as well as the world's best bowlers proved so surprising is a credit to the ECB and the player's friends, family and team-mates. In some ways it's a shame that such an illness has to be kept secret. Should depression really be treated as a 'weakness', there to be exploited by the opposition, bloggers and tabloid 'papers? If it had been, say, diabetes or cancer, I'm willing to bet he would have been lauded to the skies, labelled a hero and a symbol of sporting courage above any sessions facing 90mph bouncers from Mitchell Johnson.
An illness is an illness. Mike Yardy and Marcus Trescothick have suffered similar meltdowns in recent years, although everyone is different, affected in a variety of ways. Should anyone be in any doubt that 'stress-related illness' is an affliction of the weak-willed, a sign of losing your bottle, all in the mind, just read Trescothick's excellent autobiography Coming Back to Me. The Somerset and former England opener fought and fought against it and ended up in pieces and floods of tears. Had the likes of Hussain, Vaughan and Duncan Fletcher not fallen into the trap of believing depression to run counter to the masculine world of professional cricket, maybe Tres's international career may have been extended.
Fortunately, he could continue to develop his legendary status at Somerset without the need to take his kit bag to an airport and board a plane. The current England administration seems more enlightened and have allowed Trott to have the recuperation his illness requires. Possibly the epitome of calmness, even temperament at the crease, Jonathan Trott has never been my favourite player. However, in the four years since he made his late debut for his adopted country he has taken the rankings by storm and made the number three position his own in Tests and ODIs. In the latter his average is more than 50, a rarity even in these days of batting-friendly rules and conditions.
So what can England do in his absence for the rest of this tour? If KP refuses to step up and Alastair Cook can't vacate his opener spot, then the number three position surely rests with Ian Bell, Joe Root or even Gary Ballance. Bell is England's best batsman, a more assured performer after last summer's successes. However, does that mean he should expose himself earlier to a swinging, bouncing new ball and deprive the side of his skill and strokeplay further down the order?
Root was drafted into the Test XI on the basis of his runs as a county opener, as was Michael Carberry. For the sake of balance I'd prefer to see Carberry complementing Cook at the top, with Root returning to three. There's no Nick Compton, James Taylor or Moeen Ali in the current squad so I reckon there could be a place for Ben Stokes to come into the reckoning at number six as all-rounder. If Matt Prior fails again, then Jonny Bairstow would have the opportunity to don the gloves and add strength to the middle order. Why not? If players are picked for the tour they ought to be good enough for Test cricket.
Yes, it would be better to experiment when one up in the series instead of trailing but Jonathan Trott's absence leaves the selectors with no choice. After all the speculation about Cook's poor form, Carberry's suitability, KP's injury, Bell's technique and Prior's form, it's ironic that it's Trott who is out of the side. Whatever happens in the Ashes, I hope he is allowed time to relax and not think too much about his cricket. Warwickshire would be delighted to see him back at Edgbaston next summer but I'm not sure if the man himself would see himself back in regular county cricket so soon. I reckon he'll be back at some point but not until after a well-deserved winter break.
