Jonathan Trott quits Ashes: fury over Aussie press reaction

Newspapers accused of taking 'cheap shots' as batsman returns home with stress illness

jonathan-trott.jpg
(Image credit: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

THERE has been widespread sympathy in England for cricketer Jonathan Trott after he flew home from England's Ashes tour of Australia with a stress-related illness, but some sections of the Australian media have been less charitable, appearing to mock the batsman and incurring the wrath of mental health charities as well as England players and fans.

Chief culprit was Sydney's Daily Telgraph, which ran with the headline "Trott takes his bat and ball and heads home", accompanied by a picture of Australian captain Michael Clarke grinning from ear to ear. Inside it ran another headline: "Trott does a runner". Although the Australian media is not noted for its subtlety, writes Tom Lutz in The Guardian, the Telegraph "outdid itself" with the spread. However, he notes that the paper did also carry a piece from former Australian team psychologist Sandy Gordon, who said Trott deserved respect for his decision. "Sympathy is in short supply elsewhere," Lutz notes, pointing out that the Brisbane Courier Mail said "Stressed Pom walks" on its front page, while the Adelaide Observer simply used the headline "Trott walks". Elsewhere, and The Australian opted to declare "Shaky Trott quits tour due to stress". Lutz's Guadian colleague Owen Gibson even compared the treatment to The Sun’s infamous 2003 headline “Bonkers Bruno locked up” when the former boxer was sectioned under the Mental Health Act.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up