If I had followed English domestic cricket and had any idea of who was waiting in the wings as a viable alternative I'd punt Trott now.
Taylor or Compton
But TBH there aren't all that many batsmen waiting in the wings trying to force their way into the side. You have Ballance and Bairstow on tour, and then only really Varun Chopra, Sam Robson, Moeen Ali or Alex Lees in terms of top 3 batsmen sitting in the performance squad, and arguably only Robson could lay claim to being truly deserving/ready for a call-up.
Tbh, unless things change in the next four tests, I'd take a gamble on someone for the next summer. Trott's been average for a couple of years and abysmal since the Champions Trophy, which is particularly concerning given the form he was in for the tournament itself. With Sri Lanka and India coming over it's a really good chance for a young batsman or two t find his feet - especially Sri Lakna - and I think we need some fresher settled players for the 2015 Ashes and 205/16 tour of South Africa. Whether or not it's a Ballance or a Taylor at five or six - with Bell at three - or someone like Chopra at three (if not opening) I don't know, guess it would be dependent on form this season and the start of the 2014 Championship. It's time for him to go though, he has both technical and mental problems at the moment which are showing no signs of improvement. He optimises the England batting line up really; great in 2010 and 2011, but pretty mediocre since, yet somehow getting away without much criticism because of passed glory which is feeling longer and longer ago.
There are loads of uncertainties with England's batting at the moment though. Second opener is still relatively unknown; I'm fine with Carberry for now, but he's not settled his long term future thanks to good warm ups and a 40, Root was supposed to be the long term option but has gone back to six after just five tests, Compton looks gone, and we have little idea how close the likes of Robson are to England selection, let alone someone like Lees. Root still has to show a spine at six as well; can't believe people think his technique is well equipped for batting in Australia. In my eyes it's only Cook, Pietersen and Bell who are bankers in the top six for now.
We'll learn a lot more by the end of the series but I would probably be going something like this for the first test against Sri Lanka
1. Cook
2. Carberry/Robson/Chopra
3. Bell
4. Pietersen
5. Root
6. Ballance/Taylor
With one of the potential openers maybe batting at three and everyone else just shifting down (from that line up).
Third seamer is still an issue as well IMO. Bresnan's fine for now, but he still needs to show he's somewhat back to his best long term before he's properly the designated incumbent.
