England find South African diamond in Trott

London: When his hundred came up, it mattered not a jot to The Oval's cheering crowd that Jonathan Trott was born and learned his cricket in South Africa. He's as English as a cream tea now, proving it by kissing the three white lions on his England helmet to celebrate his century.

And what a knock it was. In his debut Test, Trott has not so much as exceeded expectations but entirely blown them away, proving as valuable at crunch-time against Australia as a diamond dug from a South African mine.

Trott's selection for this deciding Test was a gamble, one of several that England took and which have paid off big. Another was playing Stuart Broad, instead of spinner Monty Panesar.

Given Broad's first innings demolition of Australia, with a masterclass of controlled swing bowling that put the Ashes within England's grasp, that selection decision ranked up there with Emc2 for genius.

As much as many here hoped that Trott would prove to be the batsman that England so badly needed to shore up its struggling middle order, few surely bet on it.

There are few baptisms by fire more scorching than starting a Test career in the deciding game of the Ashes. Trott would have been excused had he wilted. Instead, he proved unflappable, playing with all the patience and control of a level-headed veteran as he notched up his century Saturday.

"He showed great composure," said Australian batsman Marcus North, who has been lumbered with much of the bowling responsibilities here because of his side's failure to field another spinner. "He applied himself exceptionally well."

Trott's 119 runs off 193 balls was the keystone in England's second innings total of 373-9. That left Australia needing a world-record 546 runs to win.

Although the Australians were refusing to concede defeat Saturday evening, the only real question now is how England will celebrate? Another open-top bus tour through downtown London, with MBEs from the queen, like in 2005? Seems a bit old hat — but also so much more than many expected going into this Test.

After the battering that Australia served up in the fourth Test, leveling the five-match series at one win apiece, Trott was brought in for Ravi Bopara, whose spirit had gone AWOL along with his batting.

Although Trott was born in South Africa and played for its youth sides, luckily for England he also holds a British passport. The 28-year-old owes his place in the Test side both to his sparkling form in English county cricket and to England's desperate need for someone who could provide more runs.

Trott's century at The Oval was only England's second of this series, with captain Andrew Strauss having scored the other, 161, in England's win at Lord's.

Australia, in contrast, had knocked up seven hundreds coming into The Oval, from five different players.

Those statistics speak volumes about this series: Despite the obvious flaws in its team, England has found a way to win with outstanding cricket at crucial moments, while Australia has missed opportunities to bury Strauss' squad when it clearly had the advantage.

In hindsight, those nail-biting 40 minutes when bowlers James Anderson and Panesar staved off defeat in the first Test, securing an unlikely draw, were so vital. Had Australia won that Test in Cardiff, as it should, then Ricky Ponting likely wouldn't be facing the prospect of twice having captained Australia to Ashes defeat on English soil.

Trott's first innings 41 at The Oval was solid, too, and he was heading for a half-century until he was brilliantly run out by Simon Katich.

Trott has good cricketing genes. He's related — although he is not entirely sure how — to the late, great Australian all-rounder Albert Trott, remembered not least for being the only batsman to hit a ball over the pavilion at Lord's.

There was nothing so flashy Saturday from the younger Trott. But it didn't matter. For England, he got the job done.