I feel a little bit conned we were told Jonathan Trott's problems in Australia were a stress-related illness he had suffered for years. We were allowed to believe he was struggling with a serious mental health issue and treated him with sensitivity and sympathy. He was obviously not in a great place but he was struggling for cricketing reasons and not mental, and there is a massive difference. There is a danger we are starting to use stress-related illness and depression too quickly as tags for players under pressure.

In his interview with Sky Sports he then completely disrespected anybody who has gone through depression and mental illness by using words such as "nutcase" or "crazy". We have all said things we regret in the media but I find it staggering he is so ill-informed that he used those words. I have friends who have been diagnosed with depression. They are not nutcases or crazy. They have picked up an illness that is invisible to others but can be debilitating. We have seen other England cricketers suffer from depression and I do not think Trott realises just how important an issue it is.

Burnt out: Jonathan Trott walks off from the Gabba. Credit:AFP

I have no doubt he was going through hard times in Australia but as professional sportsmen playing in a high-profile, intense series such as the Ashes against good opposition you are going to endure stress when your form goes. It is part of the job. As a player there were many times I went back to my hotel room at night and broke down because I did not know where my next run was going to come from. I thought I was suffering from depression but I was just out of form. I thought my career was over because I felt I had been found out. I confessed to a couple of teammates but I never went to the captain and coach and said I'm giving up and have to go home. As captain I had players break down in front of me because they feared their profession was coming to an end.

Cricketers are paid to score runs and take wickets so when an opponent has the advantage, your judgment is clouded because you cannot see how you are going to find an escape.