'I just want to prove it to myself' Jason Roy opens up on Test ambitions
Roy has opened for England in ODIs more often than anyone else since the last Cricket World Cup.
LONDON (Agencies) - Could England s ODI opener Jason Roy be the answer to their top-order struggles in Test cricket? His list of achievements in white-ball cricket is long, and growing by the day. He holds the record for England’s highest ODI score – 180 v Australia – and has shared in their highest ODI partnership, an unbeaten 256 with Alex Hales v Sri Lanka in 2016.
He has opened for England in ODIs more often than anyone else since the last Men’s Cricket World Cup, and no one has played more than his 73 ODIs for England without playing at least one Test match.
Following the retirement of Sir Alastair Cook, and with England having struggled even before his departure to find suitable candidates at the top of the order. Since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012, they have tried 13 men in the position. None have lasted more than 20 Tests in the role, or made more than 1,000 runs from the top two.
With the Ashes approaching, Roy s name has floated towards the top of many people’s lists, searching for someone comfortable in the international arena and setting the tone of a contest. His first-class record, averaging 46.45 since the start of 2014, also marks him out as a Test candidate. He’s feeling comfortable with the attention.
“There are people that want me to play, people that don’t want me to play,” Roy said to Sky Sports. “I just want to play to prove it to myself really. To see where I’m at and to see if I can actually do it. You never know what is going to happen but I just want to put the right stepping stones in and make sure that I m selected, that is the first process.”
One man who knows more opening in Test cricket and Jason Roy than most is former England opener and Surrey director of cricket Alec Stewart, who has emphatically backed his charge’s Test chances.
“He is someone who wants to play Test cricket,” Stewart told Sky Sports. “He is such a talent that I believe can play all forms of the game. I said two years ago that he is good enough to play Test match cricket. He has to have a good World Cup and if he does that, I reckon his name will be near enough at the top of the list to play in that Ashes series.”
Roy has rarely opened in first-class cricket, but Stewart thinks his experience in ODIs should stand him in good stead.
“Jason is opening in one-day international cricket. Twenty20 and Test cricket are miles apart, but in the first 10 or 15 overs of 50-over cricket you still have to respect that new ball,” he told BT Sport. “I don’t see it as a big issue for him and he’d cope with the stepping stone up to Test cricket.
“The Australia attack is a challenging attack, but Jason’s method is a solid one. He’s a good stroke player and a good hitter of the ball, but he can defend well too, which you have to be able to do.”
