No grudges against Pakistan: Trott

England batsman Jonathan Trott insisted his side bore “no grudges” against Pakistan despite the ‘spot-fixing’ row engulfing the tourists and his own very public bust-up with Kamran Akmal.

At Chester-le-Street the umpires had to intervene to cool tempers but Trott was adamant his spat with Akmal was not part of a deliberate attempt to ‘wind-up’ Pakistan. “It was just a few things that go on the field,” Trott explained. “I said a few words,and he was saying a few — and the umpires got in the middle of it,and made a mountain out of a molehill really,” he added ahead of the second one day international at Headingley.

Pressed on whether England were trying to “get under Pakistan’s skin”,Trott replied,“Not at all,nothing like that. “We don’t have any grudges,or anything. We just play cricket…we can’t do anything more than play the game against 11 people put out in front of us,” Trott said.