Australian sledging will not fox Trott

Warwickshire batsman Trott will bat at number four for England in the npower series decider, one place below county colleague Ian Bell after the selectors pruned the squad in minimalist fashion. Essex's Ravi Bopara was the only casualty from the 14-man squad chosen for the Headingley Test, replaced by left-arm spinner Monty Panesar.

Australia have a habit of targeting new men in the team and have already promised Trott a hostile reception, but the 28-year-old countered: "It's not as if they can bowl from any closer. They might like to target the opposition but mental toughness is part of the game and I have met a few challenges throughout my career and come through."

He added: "It's not as though county cricket is a library when you go out to bat.

"I have done the hard yards to get here: two years of scoring lots of runs and a good tour with the A side last winter.

"There is a lot of pressure that goes with the competition to get into the Test team because there are a lot of high-quality batsmen around and you have to be up there constantly pushing your name forward.

"For me this is now the first step. Making the team and staying in the team are two different things and what I have done so far is probably the easier of the two."

Trott, whose two previous international appearances were also at The Oval - he played in the Twenty20 double header against West Indies in 2007 - has piled up 1,046 first-class runs at an average of 80 this summer.

National selector Geoff Miller said: "He is a quality player, who has a very strong mental attitude.

"You never know until you are thrown into the international arena how you are going to react to it. But we have every confidence he will surmount that and be able to do the job he is required to do."