Today, Warwickshire batsman Jonathan Trott will face the national cricket media, as part of the build-up to his debut in the England one-day side.

Trott is in the squad that will face the West Indies in two Twenty20 games at The Oval on Thursday and Friday, then in three one-day internationals at Lord's on Sunday, Edgbaston next Wednesday and Trent Bridge on July 7.

Most of the hacks won't know much about him. They may think he will be just another tongue-tied, diffident young player blinking in the unaccustomed glare of the TV lights, the thrusting microphones and the questions raining down on him from different areas in the interview room.

He'll be a pleasant surprise to those who despair at the introspection of young England cricketers who haven't got a clue how to project themselves and the game.

England's media relations manager won't have to fuss over this man, he won't need his hand holding.

Trott will be ready for the inevitable questions about Ian Bell missing out on the Friends Provident Trophy semi-final against Hampshire last week. As one of Bell's best friends in the Warwickshire dressing-room, he will express personal sympathy laced with the professional assessment.

He'll also deal capably with the matter of his South African background, pointing to Kevin Pietersen's experience in following an identical path into the England team.

Trott will relish the media grilling, the most intensive of his short career, because he knows that he's there because he's doing well in his chosen profession.

By his own admission, he has smoothed out a few rough edges since he first played for Warwickshire five years ago. A series of prolonged discussions with Warwickshire's psychologist on the pre-season tour to Grenada helped.

'I used to get very down on myself because of my intense desire to do well," Trott explained.

"I'd tell my team-mates that I wasn't channelling this desire into constructive areas but Dave Hatfield's advice means I don't take it away from the ground as I used to. I'm a better person for that and it's up to me now to become a better cricketer'.

Hopefully, he'll bat at No 3 for England when the chance comes later this week.

He's a technically correct player who relishes attacking fields early in his innings.

The crash-bang-wallop stuff will have to be done by Matt Prior at the top of the order because Trott looks to play straight, work the ball around early on and then capitalise on his excellent back-foot work, especially on the offside.

He is a proper batsman, not a slogger. The more overs he faces, the better. David Graveney, the chairman of England selectors, recognised his talent early on. Two years ago, he spoke warmly to me about Trott, suggesting I keep an eye out for him.

He hoped to get him into the Champions' Trophy squad last autumn but - not for the first time - Graveney didn't carry the day with Duncan Fletcher.

Trott had been given a steer from Graveney about his international prospects early last season when the chairman sounded him out about his imminent qualification to play for England.

This was at a time when Trott was going through a prolific spell, with three centuries and an eighty-odd in his first six championship matches.

'But I never heard from him again. Now I get the call when I least expected it. It's ironic that I haven't made many runs in the handful of championship innings I've had so far, but my one-day record is good. Perhaps I'm getting the luck in the one-day games instead!'

He's got a steely character. After being dropped in favour of Ian Bell for a Friends Provident Trophy match this season, he scored 88 and 107 - both not out - in his next two games in the competition.

Don't look to Trott to hit the ball out of the park in these one-day internationals. He's not an Andrew Flintoff or even a Marcus Trescothick, but if he gets in, he'll demonstrate the timeless art of batsmanship.

He's accomplished at both the longer and the shorter forms of the game, working hard at his occasional tendency to shuffle across his stumps.

And it'll be fascinating to see how quickly he gets used to all the other peripheries of international cricket, starting with the media glare.

I have a feeling he won't be fazed at all.

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* Could Wenger be the man to fire up England?

Thierry Henry's departure to Barcelona could be the best possible news for fans of the England national side.

It just might lead to Arsene Wenger taking charge of the latest bunch of millionaires who have flattered to deceive. And there is no one more suited than Wenger. Of course, several hurdles would have to be negotiated before this came to pass. Steve McClaren would need to have failed to gain qualification for Euro 2008. We will know by late-autumn. If he fails, then he's a dead man walking in the job.

Wenger would need to keep rejecting overtures from all the top clubs in Europe who, understandably, would jump at the chance of landing such an accomplished manager.

Barcelona, for example, would be delighted to pair up Thierry Henry and Wenger next year. And Wenger would have had to sever ties with Arsenal that now extend to 11 years. I believe the latter is the most likely of the above scenarios.

He scrupulously refuses to agree to an extension of his Arsenal contract that expires at the end of next season. Like Henry, he feels that the acrimonious departure of vice-chairman David Dein was a bodyblow to the club and that boardroom parsimony is fatally influencing his ambition to win the Champions League.

Wenger has nothing left to prove at Arsenal. He has been the most influential manager in English football in the past decade, revolutionising the approach to diet and fitness, while supervising the most sublime football played by any club.

Not the most successful, agreed - Messrs Ferguson and Mourinho will undeniably have their supporters in this area - but at their best, Arsenal have been the most admired by those football fans who can distance themselves from mere tribalism.

Wenger has also stacked up enough trophies to keep any chairman happy.

He's now at the perfect age for international management, as he nears his sixties. The time when all that encyclopaedic knowledge and player-management nous merge into the ideal package, especially when allied to Wenger's obvious distaste of losing which has led him to several undignified spats that are unworthy of such a classy guy.

Wenger is also probably tiring of the inevitable internecine feuds at club level that often baffle a football man such as himself. He doesn't need to be dragged into possible scenarios like Dein returning to Arsenal on a white charger, ousting the old Etonian chairman, Peter Hill-Wood, who deplores the concept of new foreign money.

Wenger is cute enough to know that Henry, at 29, was just past his best. His record in selling on top players who have outgrown their optimum value is unsurpassable. But does he want to keep going to the well, seeking that elusive Champions League trophy?

It would be reassuring to think that the Football Association would be keeping an eye on Wenger's future. But since when have we been reassured by the FA?