‘Intimidating’ Jason Roy takes plaudits as England set new benchmarks
Eoin Morgan highlighted the “intimidating” contribution of destructive opener Jason Roy as England put defeat to Pakistan behind them with a record-breaking victory over Bangladesh at the World Cup.
Player of the Match Roy’s 153 from 121 balls in Cardiff laid the foundation for a 386-6 total which was England’s highest in World Cup cricket and their seventh successive score of more than 300 in ODIs – a new best for the men’s 50-over format.
Bangladesh were always struggling despite Shakib Al Hasan’s century, an opening Jofra Archer spell which included a 153kph delivery setting the tone for a disciplined bowling performance as Mashrafe Mortaza’s side were dismissed for 280.
Morgan afterwards described his bowling unit as “wonderful to captain”, but it was Roy who the skipper singled out for particular acclaim after the latest in a growing collection line of bullying innings, which ended only when he holed out attempting to smash Mehedi Hasan for a fourth six in four balls at the start of the 35th over.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game Morgan said, “We knew we’d have to improve to win a game against Bangladesh, and with the bat in particular we were outstanding.
“The two boys at the top of the order set a really solid platform, and Jason managed to go on and get a significant score at a good clip again. That’s good to see. “He’s very intimidating to play against when he does score runs, so the impact that has on our team is quite significant.
“From there we built on that platform, and guys like Jos Buttler, Liam Plunkett, Chris Woakes all contributing took us up to a considerable total on that wicket.”
Victory gave England a measure of revenge for the defeat to the same opposition which sealed their ignominious early departure from the 2015 tournament, and there was more good news, post-match, as Morgan revealed Buttler’s absence from wicket-keeping duties following a brisk half-century was no cause for alarm.
“There’s no serious conscern with Jos at the moment,” he said. “He didn’t keep just as a precaution. He felt his hip a little bit, so that will be monitored over the next 48 hours.”
Buttler has the best part of a week to recover from the problem – England’s next game is on Friday against West Indies in Southampton.
