‘I still feel like I can’ – Jason Roy determined to succeed in Test cricket
England batsman Jason Roy has said it was “heart-breaking” for him to be dropped so quickly into his Test career last year, but is determined “succeed” in the format he called the pinnacle of the game.
Roy had a fine World Cup 2019, and got into the subsequent Ashes squad on the back of strong performances in the tournament. However, he was dropped for the final Ashes Test after a poor series, where he struggled both as an opener and at No.4. In five Tests overall, including his debut against Ireland before the Ashes, he has averaged just 18.70 with 187 runs in 10 innings.
Roy’s struggles against Australia meant he was left out of the subsequent trips to New Zealand and South Africa, and also from the squad that was briefly in Sri Lanka in March this year before Covid-19 forced the cancellation of the tour.
“I’ve worked very hard to try and crack Test cricket, and for it to get taken away from me that quickly was heartbreaking,” Roy told reporters. “I’m going to be trying my hardest to get back into the side and prove myself.
“Scoring a weight of runs in white-ball cricket and then not being able to do that in Test cricket was upsetting, because I really felt like I could. I still feel like I can. Everyone wants to be a Test cricketer. I’ve been selected, but I want to succeed.”
Jason Roy in England’s first ODI warm-up: 104 off 99 balls
Jonny Bairstow in England’s second ODI warm-up: 100 off 83 balls
Is there a better opening pair in white-ball cricket right now?#SAvENG pic.twitter.com/aeku2YH7ip
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) February 1, 2020
From the high of winning the World Cup to being dropped from the Ashes within the span of a couple of months, the extreme emotional shift was something he found hard to handle. “The Ashes series was a very tough time,” he said. “It was absolutely ridiculous – I’ve never felt so high and so low in such a short period.
“It brings back some strange emotions now even thinking back to it, but it is part of being a professional sportsman. You’ve got to overcome these sorts of bumps.”
