'It was ridiculous' – Jonathan Trott's formidable career winds up

All of Alastair Cook, Paul Collingwood and Trott have announced retirements from the longest format of the game, albeit at different levels, and it feels like the last remaining batsmen of the great England side of 2009 to 2012 are finally going away from the public eye.

In their halcyon days, the three occupied different positions and assumed different roles for the England Test team. But it was, perhaps, Trott who glued the England batting line-up together.

On day one of Warwickshire's final Division Two match of the season in the County Championship, Trott, walking out in his final first-class match after having announced in May that this season will be his last, was given a guard of honour by Kent.

Trott deserved that and more: 3835 Test runs at 44.08 with nine centuries, and 2819 in one-day internationals at 51.25 are excellent numbers. This county season, he had closed in on 1000 runs again.

At the top of the Division Two run-scorers' list is his old mate Ian Bell, also of Warwickshire, with whom Trott enjoyed many a partnership. So much so that playing for his county alongside Bell felt like their "own little Test match", according to Trott, England's 18th – of 19 – centurion on Test debut.

"I really enjoyed batting with Belly this summer. It was like old times. It was like our own little Test match out there," Trott told Wisden Cricket Monthly.

Together, Bell and Trott helped England script history in Australia when Andrew Strauss' men became the first to win an away Ashes series since Mike Gatting's team in 1986-87, where Trott starred with an unbeaten 135 in the first Test at Brisbane. The scenes at the Sydney Cricket Ground visitors' dressing room were joyously chaotic in the wake of the 3-1 win over Australia.

"Everyone had had quite a lot of champagne and there was music on. People were coming in and out. Families were around," Trott recalled. "Going to Australia and winning – if that’s not fun then there’s no fun in cricket."

The Ashes aside, Trott and the team passed many chequered flags, one of the most prominent being the Test series win in India in 2012-13 where Trott got a magnificent 143 in Nagpur that ensured England held on to their 2-1 lead and won a Test series in India for the first time since 1986-87.

"Winning in India was special, especially against the team that we played – [Virender] Sehwag, [Sachin] Tendulkar, [MS] Dhoni, Harbhajan [Singh]," Trott said. "I always think India is the heartbeat of world cricket. England is the home but India is the ultimate Everest. To win there was a phenomenal effort."

Beating India 4-0 at home in 2011, a double hundred against Sri Lanka the same summer, and 184 against Pakistan at Lord's the summer before against a young and threatening Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif are some of the crowning achievements of Trott's career.

* Updated till his penultimate first-class game, against Sussex – 18-21 September, 2018

But most importantly, Trott was having fun doing what he did. "Yeah, it was fun. Everything worked," Trott remembered. "We bowled out Sri Lanka in 22 overs. Ridiculous. Then we beat India 4-0. Getting to No.1 – ridiculous."

Of course, 'ridiculous' is a superlative Trott uses quite a bit, because what he and his teammates achieved during the prime of their careers was indeed special. They climbed to No.1 in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Rankings, won away series in Australia, India and Bangladesh while drawing in Sri Lanka, South Africa, New Zealand and the West Indies – where he played his last Test in 2015.

He walks out in a similar fashion, with Warwickshire topping the table in Division Two and ensuring their promotion to Division One. For Trott, cricket's provided him happiness, with all the success and hardships he has faced, something he'd like to take on with him when he forays into coaching, his next choice of career.

"I have a feeling that what I went through is going to help me as a coach and will make me more aware of things," said Trott, who had to deal with stress-related mental-health issues during his career.

"I will never forget how difficult the game is; I will always have empathy for cricketers and it’s why I struggle to criticise players without giving a positive option. That makes me think I want to make a difference as a coach."