Postponed T20WC makes sense, but will be ready if it begins on time – Jason Roy
England batsman Jason Roy isn’t opposed to postponing the T20 World Cup if the players aren’t able to find the adequate time to prepare.
With the global situation evolving rapidly and continuously, the tournament, scheduled to be held in October, is under a cloud, though Australia, the host, has managed to curb the spread of the coronavirus better than most countries.
But with other countries far behind in how effectively they have coped with the pandemic, Roy said postponing the tournament would make sense, before quickly adding that England would be ready for any eventuality.
“If players aren’t able to prepare in the right way and are not able to get over to Australia, then it makes sense to postpone it,” Roy said. “But if it goes ahead, it’s our job to play cricket, and if we’re told we have three weeks to prepare to go and play in the World T20, all the boys will be putting the yards in to make sure we’re ready for that.
“I think all the boys are on edge, waiting for the call, saying, ‘Right, we have a month turnaround or a six-week turnaround. Get in the nets and go hit some balls.’ I think the boys will be as ready as they can be.”
Roy also pinned his faith in the ECB and the limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan, saying he will go as per their instructions and trusted them to make the right call.
“I’ll do what I’m told by [the] bosses,” Roy said. “I won’t be going to my bosses and saying, ‘put me in the frontline.’ I’ll just get told what to do. I’m just a pawn in the sporting world.
“I’ve got a huge amount of trust in the ECB. I think they will look into every single avenue of all the positives, all the negatives. So I guess I would trust in what they say, probably have a chat with Morgs and see where his head’s at and go with that.
“I don’t think I’ll have too many questions, especially when it got to the stage of ‘Right, we’re going to play’, because there’ll be a lot of people in those meetings discussing whether it’s the right thing to do or not.
“I just want to play some cricket, to be honest. I think for us to be able to go out there and play some cricket would be an incredible feeling. I feel like a kid again. I guess we’re governed by the government here, we don’t really know what is going on or what the safety measures are. There’s way bigger things out there. I’m more than happy to play behind closed doors, it would just be nice to get out there.”
