Trott leaves Ashes due to stress

Former England cricketer Matthew Hoggard has spoken of the pressures cricketers are under while on tour after the news batsman Jonathan Trott has left the Ashes tour in Australia due to a stress-related illness.

He added: "It takes a big man to come out and admit that he is struggling and he needs some help."

Jonathan Trott has taken a brave step in leaving England's Ashes tour to battle a stress-related illness, the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA) have said.

The PCA chief executive Angus Porter said: "This does require bravery, admitting to a problem very publicly and leaving a tour and team-mates, that's the brave thing to do.

"It would have been much easier in many ways to plough on, and not address the problem, and maybe that's what people would have done 10 or 20 years ago and we'd never have known why they performed badly.

"At least we've grown up to the point that people acknowledge just as you shouldn't play on with a knee injury you shouldn't play on with a brain injury - you should seek treatment and get yourself right for the future."

Echoing the thoughts of Andy Flower, Porter said comments made by Australia's David Warner had no bearing on the illness Trott was already battling.

Read: Psychologist: Media spotlight inevitably increases stress

Former England captain Nasser Hussain says he expects the sledging to continue in the Ashes series despite Jonathan Trott's departure with a stress-related illness.

Trott was described as "poor and weak" by Australia's David Warner after the batsman struggled in the opening test.

"I don't expect the other sledging to die down too much at all - this is an Ashes battle and it will continue to be an Ashes battle. I don't expect it to be played any differently," Hussain told Sky Sports.

The opening week of the Ashes series has been especially heated, with with Australia captain Michael Clarke warning England tailender James Anderson to "get ready for a broken f****** **arm" as he prepared to bat, a comment which has landed Clarke a hefty fine.

The Brisbane press have also continued to attack England's cricketers, labelling Stuart Broad a "smug Pommie cheat" and criticising Kevin Pietersen's "arrogant" nature.

Performing elite sport in the heat of the media will inevitably increase the stress levels of an individual, a leading sports psychiatrist has said.

England batsman Jonathan Trott was forced to leave the Ashes tour in Australia with a stress-related illness.

Speaking to ITV News, Dr Philip Hopley, from LPP Consulting, said: "Performing elite sport in the heat of the media is inevitably is going to increase the stress levels of an individual.

"Quite often people manifesting signs of stress, their self-belief and self-confidence can be undermined impacting on performance."

While unaware of the exact details of the case, Dr Hopley said it was highly likely that the decision to leave the tour was taken in conjunction with medical professionals.

Read: Trott 'definitely' made right decision to leave Ashes

Former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan has admitted he feels guilty for criticising Jonathan Trott's performance in the opening Ashes test after it was revealed the England batsman was struggling with a stress-related illness.

Vaughan described Jonathan Trott's performance in the second innings of the first test at the Gabba as among the "worst I have seen from an England No.3".

England Managing Director Andy Flower earlier said Trott's exit was not influenced by criticism of his display.

Marcus Trescothick believes England batsman Jonathan Trott "definitely" made the correct decision to leave the Ashes tour with a stress-related illness on Monday.

Trott has been struggling with an ongoing battle with the stress-related illness for some time and announced he was taking a break from cricket for the "foreseeable future".

Trescothick admitted he can sympathise with Trott as he left the 2005-06 India tour and the 2006-07 Ashes tour of Australia due to a similar situation.

"You just can't take any more, you just can't get through the day let alone go out there and play a Test match and win a Test match. I sympathise with Trotty," Trescothick told Sky Sports.

The former England batsman believes the atmosphere during an Ashes series in Australia can bring an enormous amount of pressure and scrutiny:

"It's a very, very hostile environment in Australia when the whole of the country is battering you left, right and centre."

Read: Cricketers tweet support for Trott after Ashes exit

England and Australian cricketers have given their support to Jonathan Trott after it was revealed announced the batsman had left the Ashes tour due to a stress-related illness.

Read: Trescothick: 'Let's not start pointing too many fingers'

Former England cricketer Marcus Trescothick has said there should not be too much emphasis on the reasons why Jonathan Trott has left the Ashes tour, insisting there should be a focus on Trott's well-being instead.

It was announced this morning that Trott had left the Ashes tour of Australia with a stress-related illness.

Trescothick left a tour of India in 2006 with a stress-related illness.

Read: Trott must be 'given time, support and space to recover'

Jonathan Trott's decision to return home from the Ashes were not influenced by David Warner's comments that his display was "poor and weak".

Australia's David Warner described Jonathan Trott as "poor and weak" after the batsman struggled against the bowling of Mitchell Johnson in the opening Ashes Test.

When asked if Warner's comments had had a direct influence on Trott's exit, Andy Flower said: "That would be inaccurate. As I said earlier, Jonathan has been struggling with this condition for quite a while and has managed it very successfully but we've been on tour for about a month.

"He's had his ups and downs through that month and it is not directly related to that."

However, Flower did describe the comments as "disrespectful".

Jonathan Trott needs "time, support and space" to recover from his stress-related condition, the Managing Director of England Cricket has said.

“Jonathan Trott is an incredibly talented cricketer who has proven himself time and again for England. The cricket side of things is unimportant now, all that matters is that Jonathan is given the time, support and space he needs to recover," Hugh Morris said.

"We fully support his decision to leave the tour and the ECB will provide all the assistance we can to help Jonathan and his family through this period. Jonathan has asked for privacy while he recovers and I would urge everyone to respect that.”

Read: Trott has been 'suffering with condition for some time'