Former England batter Jonathan Trott is a busy man. His playing days may be over but his coaching career continues at pace. His Afghanistan team are currently involved in a tri-series in Sharjah, which precedes the T20 Asia Cup that will feature the top eight teams from the continent.
Alongside that, Trott is also set to begin his stint as coach of DP World International League T20 side Gulf Giants.
Trott took over from Andy Flower as coach of the Adani Sportsline-owned side, deepening his roots in franchise cricket having already undertaken management duties in The Hundred and SA T20.
The ILT20 takes place in December, with the cricket calendar making accommodations for the T20 World Cup early next year. The ILT20 will hold a player auction on September 30 to decide the squad composition of the six teams.
That means Trott is juggling international duties while keeping an eye on ILT20 developments and auction strategies.
It is the reality of modern cricket, not just for Trott as a coach but also players, teams and stakeholders. There is a constant overlap of international and franchise matches – The Hundred competition started less than 24 hours after India defeated England by six runs in the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy to level one of the greatest series in recent years.
Trott believes it is time to create proper and possibly separate windows for franchise and international cricket so that all entities can grow without eating into each other’s space.
“My view is the ICC and franchise cricket need to get together and come up with a calendar where they both can co-exist. Franchise cricket also needs to respect international cricket and give them their 'fair juice',” Trott told The National.
“So it almost becomes like four months of the year franchise cricket, eight months of the year international cricket. And then with the next FTP [Future Tours Programme], you can play it properly. Players get proper breaks, they know when they are going to play.”
The former England middle-order batter also believes having a cap on the number of leagues players can play will help cricket boards and franchise tournaments have a fair chance of prospering.
“It's up to the governing bodies of each nation to say to players, ‘You can only play three or four franchise leagues’.
“They know when their windows are, who their competition is with regards to different leagues going on at the same time. And you can plan accordingly. When people know in advance what the plan is, everyone can co-exist. It's when things come last minute, or when things change, that is when there is absolute chaos.”
Afghanistan players are seen as the most successful products of franchise cricket, with the likes of Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and others excelling in leagues and translating that experience into international success. But Trott admits it is always a work in progress.
“Franchise cricket has certainly helped the Afghanistan side develop quickly. There are some cons to it as well. But getting coaching from some of the best coaches in the world, playing with some of the best players in the world has rubbed off on the players.
“It's important to get that balance right. We look after the game, and we look after the soul of the game, and we look after the integrity of the game. And what's made this game so great is international cricket.”
Trott has kept one eye on cricket in England as well and has witnessed a growing trend where domestic players are giving up first-class contracts to pursue white-ball cricket, not only domestically but overseas.
“I think franchise cricket is affecting the English county game as well. Players aren't playing for their counties. They just go off in September, play the CPL [Caribbean Premier League]. They don't play for their counties. They just play white-ball cricket. So you're starting to see a little bit of a knock-on effect on first-class cricket, which is not great.”
For now, Trott is focused on getting his bearings right as Gulf Giants coach, with the added task of finalising the strategy for the ILT20 player auction.
“As a coach, you are constantly doing homework on players. Players that you've played with or players that you play against. With the Afghan job, we are playing against a lot of these guys all around the world.
“I was just involved a little bit in The Hundred with Trent Rockets, I did half the tournament with them and then I came here. So I've done quite a bit of time in franchise cricket. Different challenges to keep you on your toes as a coach.”
What should help Trott in his maiden ILT20 stint is some familiar faces in the Gulf Giants squad – namely Afghanistan stars Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, along with England veterans Moeen Ali and James Vince. Familiarity, however, also raises expectations on both sides.
“Knowing the players, knowing the personality is really keen. But at the same time, I'm probably a lot harder on those guys, especially the Afghan guys. Because I know how good they can be. And when they're not, I'm really pushing them to be the best that they can. When you have those relationships or those friendships, it makes it really tough sometimes as a coach as well. So there are pros and cons to it all.
"But I've never been shy of making the tough decisions, what's correct for the team. And obviously taking the players' emotions into consideration.”
While cricket continues to evolve, certain world events serve as a reality check. Recently, Afghanistan suffered a devastating earthquake that resulted in the loss of more than 1,400 lives.
Trott revealed Afghanistan players are in constant touch with their people back home and are working to not only raise funds, but also provide a sense of hope.
“The side were very good in raising money. I think Rash [Rashid Khan] gave all of his match fees away. They got a GoFundMe page.
"Yes, we're not playing at home, but they're very much in touch with what goes on. There is extra incentive with regards to representing where they come from and extra inspiration to bring a bit of joy to people.”
