Jason Roy: “We’ve underperformed as a team and because of that we’ve got a bee in our bonnet”
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Jason Roy is not sidestepping the fact that England have underperformed in the ongoing T20 tri-series and as a result, he has called on his side to bounce back in their clash against New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday.
England have already lost twice in the tournament, with both their losses coming against Australia as they fell in Hobart and Melbourne.
However, Roy knows that England can get their campaign back on track with a win over the Black Caps, who lost to Australia in the opening game in Sydney.
“We’ve underperformed as a team and because of that we’ve got a bee in our bonnet,” the England opener was quoted as saying by Sky Sports. “We want to make sure the next game is a strong performance. It’s not just about being aggressive and hitting the ball out of the park, it’s recognising we have got the firepower and being smarter with it.
“Playing aggressive cricket, an aggressive brand and all that, that’s not just what we’re about. In the past we’ve played a lot smarter cricket. It’s been hugely frustrating because of the line-up we’ve got.”
However, for Tuesday’s fixture against New Zealand, England are likely to be without captain Eoin Morgan once again as he is still nursing a groin injury.
Should he be ruled out once again, Jos Buttler is set to keep hold of the captaincy.
Meanwhile, all-rounder Ben Stokes won’t feature in the game as he has to appear at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday after being charged with affray.
The charge against Stokes stems from his involvement in a street fight outside the Mbargo nightclub in Bristol last September.
While Stokes has not played international cricket since that incident, there is a chance he could return when England face New Zealand once again in Hamilton on Sunday.
When questioned about the possibility of this happening, Roy said: “There hasn’t been any chat about it if I’m honest. It’s out of our hands and has been for the last few months. He’s a great asset to our side obviously, not just on the park but off the field as well with his positivity.
“It would be great to have him here but who knows what will happen. He’s been missed the whole Ashes, the one-day series, the T20s – he’s a star player and extremely important to us. There’s no shying away from that. It will be good to have him back, hopefully.”
In the five-match ODI series against Australia that preceded the T20 tri-series, Roy was in brilliant form as he scored 250 runs at an average of 50. In the opening match of that series, Roy struck a breathtaking 180 and subsequently broke the record for the highest ODI score by an England player.
However, he has been unable to replicate that form in the T20 tri-series as he has accumulated 17 runs in two matches at an average of 8.50.
Roy himself was unable to explain his sudden dip in form, saying: “I’ve underperformed in quite a few of my last T20 games which has been hugely frustrating.
“I’m a pretty honest bloke with myself, especially in where I’m at, so I know that the next few games are hugely important. I don’t know where I’ve kind of been at the last two games. I just need to play stronger shots.”