The Ashes 2013: "England disappointed with first day's performance" - Jonathan Trott

Jonathan Trott looked in good form before being dismissed for 49. (Getty Images)

England batsman Jonathan Trott praised the Australian bowlers for their demolition of the English top order, which resulted in the home side slumping to 238/9 at stumps on the first day of the fourth Ashes Test at Chester-le-Street on Friday.

The English side looked in good shape as Trott along with skipper Alaistair Cook put up 107 on the board for the loss of one wicket. But off-breaker Nathan Lyon, who took Trott’s wicket when he was only shy of a half-century, ripped the middle-order apart. Lyon finished with four wickets, with Australia in total control of the game.

Trott said: “It was a difficult day and quite hard to score once the ball got a bit older after around 40 overs.

“I think, considering the position we were in, at just over 100-1, we’ll be a bit upset with the position we find ourselves in at the close of play.

“It was little bit difficult once they put catching fielders in front of you, and the pitch didn’t come on as quickly as Old Trafford did,” he added

Nevertheless, Trott picked up some positives coming from the first day’s play and appeared confident on the rest of the match. He told: “But I suppose we’ve got nearly 240 on the board, so hopefully we can scrape a few more tomorrow and then get some early wickets.

“Nobody is really sure what a good score is. Australia bowled well and hopefully we can create the same kind of pressure tomorrow,” he stated.

Moving onto his personal contribution to the side on the opening day’s play where captain Cook’s 51 proved to be the highest score, Trott exclaimed:

“I went out and tried not to worry about technique but just concentrated on scoring runs.

“I felt I timed the ball pretty well but unfortunately got out to a softish dismissal, which was probably a catalyst for our dismissals today.

“Sometimes it happens, no one has a divine right to score runs. Sometimes things go against you,” he wrapped up.