Misfiring Roy battling to ensure he does not miss out on another victory party

WHEN England arrived in South Africa earlier this week, white-ball head coach Matthew Mott confirmed, unsurprisingly, that the injured Jonny Bairstow and rested Joe Root remain “lock-ins” to start the 50-over World Cup in October. Not so long ago, Jason Roy would have fallen into the same category.

The belligerent opener, a talismanic embodiment of the shift in England’s philosophy that prompted their ascent from embarrassment to, now, whiteball kings of the world, had always been prone to the odd bit of streakiness — that is, more or less, what form is — but had proven his worth a hundred times over and had it exemplified by spells on the sidelines during successive major tournaments.

But last year, amid a prolonged downturn, Roy was dropped from the T20 side ahead of a World Cup that England went on to win without him. Now, with nine months to go until the start of the 50-over equivalent, the 32-year-old is playing to ensure history does not repeat itself.

“I think you’d love some more runs,” Mott said, which was putting it mildly. There were occasional signs of life in the early part of last summer, during the Blast and the ODI tour of the Netherlands, where Roy scored an unbeaten century. But, by the end of the season, he was averaging 8.5 for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred and struggling in white-ball series against South Africa and India.

The ODI whitewash in Australia before Christmas was a write-off for all involved, but this month, in seven games for Paarl Royals in South Africa’s SA20, Roy has a top-score of 33, with four single-figure dismissals.

The hope, for both Roy and England, is that a return to the longer format, where returns have remained more encouraging than in T20 cricket, will prompt a resurgence.

“He has an outstanding one-day record,” Mott said. “I’m sure he has absorbed some lean times, but what you do know is his best is world-class.

“It should be harder to get in the team than get out of it, and this team has enjoyed a lot of success over a long period of time. Jason Roy’s been a big part of that.”

England probably do not need Roy to set the tone in the way they once did; these days, anyone without an attacking mindset need not apply for a shirt across any format. Alex Lees, probably the least naturally-aggressive player to turn out for England in the last year, scored a 94-ball century for the Lions in a red-ball game yesterday.

But an on-song Roy would be part of England’s best ODI XI and his experience with the nuances of an increasingly sidelined format should not be understated, given how little 50-over cricket is being played by anyone, let alone those queuing up as possible replacements.

Phil Salt was due first crack as his partner here, but is a fitness doubt, due to illness. Ben Duckett and Dawid Malan look to be the alternatives for Friday’s series opener. Whoever gets the nod, the critical eye will be trained on the man at the other end.