West Indies beware, Jonathan Trott makes a habit of starting off the summer with a Test double hundred.
He did it against Bangladesh - hitting 226 at Lord's in 2010 - and he did it against Sri Lanka, scoring 203 at Cardiff last year.
Now he will go after a different sort of hat-trick at the start of his third full season as an England player against a quick but under-prepared West Indies attack when this year's international season squelches into life at Lord's.
Summer lovin': Trott has a record of starting the Test season well on home soilMore from Paul Newman... Paul Newman: Worrying signs as Ashes fever cools north of the Trent 29/05/13 World of cricket: Surrey chief Thompson won't let tragedy hold up his ambitious plan 22/05/13 PAUL NEWMAN: England may have to get used to life without star batsman Pietersen 15/05/13 Paul Newman: Lions ready for next big Test as Kiwis await stars of the future 08/05/13 World of Cricket: Hales looks the part but can he turn it on against spin kings? 22/08/12 Paul Newman: Flawed KP not the only one at fault, but faces long road back 15/08/12 Paul Newman: No 1 priority for Strauss must be his own future 08/08/12 Paul Newman: Smash-hit Styris can't hide need for overhaul of county T20 game 25/07/12 Paul Newman: Let's enjoy Pietersen. We'll miss him when he's gone 18/07/12 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
'Maybe being fresh and rested helps,' said Trott. 'Or maybe getting runs for Warwickshire helps my frame of mind. A hundred will do this week. I'm certainly not thinking of another double.'
It would be unwise to rule it out. Trott has become a rock for England, a batsman who made the best start of all on his Test debut with a hundred in an Ashes decider. He has barely looked back since.
While others have more style and dash, Trott would be the man to pick if your life depended on an England player scoring runs. Even now, after he has proved all the doubters wrong, it is easy to forget that his average of 52.70 from 28 Tests puts him in the very highest company in the history of the game.
It is no surprise that it was Trott who became the first England player this winter to finally overcome the demons of playing spin in subcontinental conditions.
His innings of 112 in a losing cause at Galle, which could easily have taken England to an historic win, was the perfect example of how it should be done. Trott puts it down to 'definitive footwork'.
'The key, I feel, is not to get caught in the crease,' he said. 'There's less margin for error when you are moving your feet well.' But he also recognises that, despite England's Kevin Pietersen-inspired win in the final Test in Sri Lanka, the batting unit will have to 'pull our socks up' in India later this year.
India, for now, can wait as England will revert to the home conditions that suit them best when they take on West Indies in three Tests over the next month they really should win comfortably. Not that Trott will be viewing it that way.
'I think we underestimated the desire of Pakistan to beat us in the winter,' said Trott with refreshing candour. 'We won't do that again.'
Explosive: Trott scored big runs against Bangladesh (above) and Sr Lanka (below)
Then it will be the eagerly awaited showdown between the best two teams in the world when South Africa visit. Mention the country of his birth to Trott, though, and he becomes a little defensive.
Maybe it is his weariness about having to constantly reiterate his 'Englishness' or maybe it is the reminder of England's visit to South Africa just after Trott's introduction to Test cricket, which didn't exactly go well for him.
Follow Paul on Twitter...@Newman_Cricket
It ended, indeed, with the then South African coach Micky Arthur making a 'loony tunes' gesture behind Trott's back, so intense had he appeared to have become with his struggles.
'Other people didn't do too well in that series also but you don't mention them,' said Trott. 'It didn't go that well for me but remember I'd only just begun my Test career. It was a good learning curve for me. I had scored a hundred on debut against Australia but realised that I couldn't get a century every game.
'It will be a big series against South Africa. We got to No 1 in the world quicker than we ever envisaged but now we have to stay there. I'd like our next target to be to see how far ahead we can get.'
Trott will be at the forefront of that quest.
Big favourites: It is hard to see past a 3-0 series win for EnglandRav justice for Bopara
Ravi Bopara was pencilled in to the England squad at the start of last summer before Eoin Morgan rudely snatched his place by scoring 193 for the Lions against Sri Lanka.
Then Bopara was going to start in Sri Lanka last winter before a side strain stopped him bowling. This time he had been picked against West Indies before a recurrence of a thigh injury ruled him out. Whither Bopara now?
Hammer blow: Bopara has been ruled out of the Test after injuring his thighThere must be a chance that a man whose face has never really fitted with the current England set-up has played his last Test, particularly as he played on for Essex this summer when Andy Flower was advising him to rest his thigh.
It would be a crying shame if the talented Bopara is destined never to fulfil his potential but perhaps he will forever be one of the nearly men.
More... Top Spin Test special: West Indies can become history boys at Lord's Bumble's world: Tasty bowling attack gives West Indies chance to upset England England captain Strauss bids to conjure up his old magic on sacred soil against West Indies Nasser Hussain: Sadly, the West Indies have been weakened by wealth of IPL