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Batsmen must be smarter – Roy

by Wisden Staff 1 minute read

Jason Roy says England’s batsmen have a point to prove in the remaining T20Is in New Zealand, saying they have “a bee in their bonnet” after two sub-par totals cost them in the matches against Australia.

England lost both their opening T20s in Hobart and Melbourne after posting 155 and 137 respectively and Roy said the batsmen are determined to put things right against New Zealand. The Black Caps will host England twice – in Wellington on Tuesday and Hamilton on Sunday – in the second leg of the tri-series. They also lost their opening game to Australia.

Kane Williamson’s side are seeking to recover their brilliant form of early summer

“We’ve under-performed as a team and because of that we’ve got a bee in our bonnet,” said Roy.

“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.”

Kane Williamson’s side have a few questions of their own to answer. They have only recently been toppled from their No1 ranking in T20Is but after a previously unbeaten summer, have now lost their last three matches – two T20s v Pakistan (now world No.1s) and the last game v Australia. Both batting line-ups, in particular, are under pressure to improve their teams’ fortunes.

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