Last chance saloon opens for shaky Roy
England facing a dilemma about batsman’s future
JASON ROY will be given one more Test to prove he can make it as an opener before England cut their losses and shift him into the middle order where head coach Trevor Bayliss thinks he belongs.
Right now, Joe Denly remains in possession of the coveted No4 position, but that has hardly been a resounding success either.
England’s decision- makers still believe Roy has what it takes to make it as a Test batsman but his returns so far alongside best mate Rory Burns have been negligible.
In the second Test at Lord’s, Roy fell to a three- ball duck in the first innings and made just two in the second.
He will be checked by medical staff this morning to make sure he has suffered no ill effects after being hit on the side of the neck while batting in the nets yesterday.
The 29- year- old was passed fit to continue training at Headingley, where England are preparing for the third Ashes Test against Australia starting tomorrow.
Roy, who was wearing a neck guard, was not grounded by the blow but bent over in pain before removing his helmet and feeling the impacted area.
Having shrugged it off, Roy will now have another chance to provide an electric start to England’s innings, but he has yet to hang around long enough to determine whether he can cut it.
“I think he is a middle- order player but the one spot available was at the top,” said Bayliss. “That meant Jason coming in with his experience of white- ball cricket. We know it’s different, but that’s the option we took.
“It hasn’t worked yet but he could easily come out and blast a quick 100. Long term he’s more middle order – he’d feel more comfortable there.”
Denly has more experience of opening the batting in first- class cricket than Roy, so it does beg the question: why have England not made the switch already? This is an issue that will have been thrashed out in the selection meeting and yet they continue to place square pegs in round holes.
For now the only concern is to get enough runs to give their bowlers something to work with. England will continue with Ben Stokes at No5 and will ask Jonny Bairstow to bat at six above Jos Buttler if he has not already kept wicket.
It is a fluid structure that cuts against the grain as far as Bayliss is concerned but for this match, and potentially for the series,
England will stay with it. “I’d like to see the guys stick to a position and everyone becomes comfortable, but it is one of the difficulties,” added Bayliss. “The allrounders having to back up after bowling or keeping is one of the challenges.
“What the answer is, we’re trying to work out. It’s something we have to look at going forward. There might come a time when we have to put a foot down and say, no, this is what’s happening. Like it or lump it.”