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Trott accused of Ashes walkout con

Jonathan Trott says he was "burnt out" when he left England's Ashes tour © Getty Images

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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has accused Jonathan Trott of "conning" his way out of the Ashes tour Down Under.

Trott left Australia in November after England lost the first Test, with a "stress-related illness" given as the explanation by officials.

However, Trott has now said he was not suffering from depression but felt "burnt out" and Vaughan has accused him of being disrespectful to those who do struggle with the illness.

"I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan's problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years," Vaughan, who captained England between 2003 and 2008, wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.

"We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy.

"He was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental - and there is a massive difference.

"I have friends who have been diagnosed with depression. They have an illness that is invisible to others but can be debilitating. I do not think Trott realises just how important an issue it is."

Trott scored just 19 runs in his two innings at the Gabba in Brisbane as he struggled against Australia bowler Mitchell Johnson, with England beaten by 381 runs.

Australia opener David Warner described his performance as "poor and weak" and said England's batsmen had "scared eyes", comments labelled "disrespectful" by Alastair Cook, whose side slumped to a 5-0 whitewash series defeat.

Vaughan believes opposition players - and even some of his own teammates - will now believe Trott walked out on England.

"What Trott will have to accept is that players in his own dressing room and in the opposition will look at him and think at the toughest of times he did a runner," said Vaughan.

"Trott was failing on the biggest stage and he admitted that the previous occasion he suffered burnout was in South Africa in 2009-10, the only other time he has faced top-quality fast bowling.

"He was in a bad state mentally in both series but also technically. Until he corrects the faults in his game against fast bowling, he will not get any better.

"He did not fight and got on a plane and went home. It is harsh but that is the reality."

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