Trott does not want the Ashes series to be about humiliation and degradation

The Ashes has long been known as one of the, or arguably, the most intense rivalry in cricketing history, however, with a back-to-back Ashes series set to take place this year, England batsman Jonathan Trott has warned his team-mates not to focus on trying to mimic the 3-1 thrashing they handed the Australians in 2010-2011 and instead divert their attention towards simply retaining the Ashes for a record third time in a row.

“It will be important to hopefully retain the Ashes over here, but then go to Australia and not try to emulate what happened,” Trott told ESPNcricinfo’s Alison Mitchell. “Try to do it again based on what we did last time, I think that would be quite dangerous. I don’t think there’s one recipe for everything. We need to go there and see how it goes, and who knows, try to win even more than before, not try to recreate history but just do it in its own way and set standards for ourselves.”

England have a lot of other series throughout the year as well, including five Tests against New Zealand, with three being held abroad and two on home soil, along with the Champions Trophy in June, which will also be played in their own backyard.

The English are currently second on the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings, only trailing behind South Africa, who beat them last summer to replace them at the top of the table.

Trott, who scored a century and half-century in England’s historic 2-1 win over India, praised captain Alastair Cook for the outstanding job he did leading the team into unfamiliar territory in his maiden series as skipper and added that Cook’s dazzling display with the bat was the game-changer in nearly all of the Tests.

Trott also backed his former Warwickshire coach Ashley Giles to work wonders with the England limited overs squads.

“He’s done his years with Warwickshire and learnt about being a coach,” Trott said. “I think it can be quite tricky coming straight from being a player to being a coach. He knows the lines between being a mate and being a coach, and what’s expected of you and what’s expected of himself. So I think the English team of the future, in one-day cricket, is looking pretty good. There’s a lot of one-day cricket, another Champions Trophy – something we want to really do well in.”

The England batsman also thanked Giles for helping him regain his focus while at Warwickshire and prepare him for the hardships of Test cricket.

“He had a lot of experience to draw on from what happened in his career – media, pressure, and getting the most out of his talent,” Trott added. “He probably saw me as a guy not doing things quite right and could probably do better. He sat me down and said, ‘I think you’re going about your business in the wrong fashion, maybe tinker with a few things here and there.'”