England all-rounder Stuart Broad has termed the 'shock' exit of his batting teammate Jonathan Trott from the Ashes as 'heartbreaking', adding that that the squad would rally around Trott.
Trott left Australia after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) revealed that he has been suffering from a stress-related illness, following his double dismissal by Mitchell Johnson in England's heavy 381-run loss to Australia in the first Test in Brisbane.
According to Sport24, although England is primarily focusing on restoring parity in the five-Test series in the two-day warm-up match before the second Test, Broad said that the players' thoughts are also with Trott, adding that it was heartbreaking for them to lose their teammate.
Hailing Trott as 'fantastic', Broad further said that the South Africa-born batsman has been a part of their squad for four or five years and has given them a lot of solidity in the number three spot, adding that every player is looking out for Trott and are all hoping that the batter gets a bit of privacy at home to get himself right.
Claiming that he and his teammates had little prior knowledge of the issues that Trott was grappling with, Broad also said that he believes it would be wrong of them to discuss what Trott has gone through because that is not going to help him in any way at the moment.
Broad also conceded that the singular demands of overseas touring in professional cricket could take a psychological toll on players, especially the ones with families.
