Roy sparkles in England victory

11-1 Held up, soon towards rear, headway to chase leaders straight, kept on same pace from over 1f out, 6th of 13, 6l behind Princess Yaiza at Dundalk 7f 2yo hcp pol in Dec. 13-8fav Close up, headway over 1f out, switched right inside final furlong, soon chased winner, kept on one pace, 2nd of 12, 2l behind Bezos at Lingfield 7f 2yo hcp 0-65 (6) pol in Dec. 9-2 Keen, pressed leader until led over 4f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, last of 5, 1 3/4l behind Rusper at Lingfield 1m hcp 0-85 (4) pol. 13-2 Held up in last place, headway on inner when edged right over 1f out, ridden to lead inside final furlong, ran on, won at Wolverhampton 7f 2yo hcp 0-65 (6) in Nov beating Global Spirit by nk, 11 ran. 7-1 Chased leaders, 2nd 3f out, ridden over 1f out, lost 2nd inside final furlong, weakened, 4th of 11, 4l behind Statehood at Lingfield 7f 2yo nov stks (5) pol in Nov. 16-1 Held up in mid-division, headway over 2f out, hampered then went 2nd over 1f out, not much room briefly inside final furlong, no impression on winner inside final 100 yards, lost 2nd post, 3rd of 14, 2 1/2l behind Bold Reason at Newcastle 1m 2yo hco 0-75 (5) in Dec. 7-1 Mid-division, pushed along approaching straight, ridden and no impression 2f out, no extra, eased inside final furlong, 11th of 14, 15l behind Check Your Pockets at Dundalk 1m 2yo hcp pol in Nov. 25-1 Raced wide, tracked leader, ridden 2f out, faded inside final furlong, 4th of 11, 4l behind Hasanoanda at Lingfield 1m Novice Auction Stakes (3yo) (6) pol. 22-1 Chased leading pair on inside, ridden and lost 3rd over 1f out, rallied into 3rd again and kept on towards finish, 3rd of 11, 1 1/2l behind Shrewd Approach at Epsom Downs 7f 2yo hcp 0-85 (4) hvy in Oct.

7-4 Tracked leaders, challenged over 1f out, soon ridden, led inside final furlong, headed and dropped to 3rd near finish, 3rd of 7, 1 1/4l behind Never Back Down at Wolverhampton 6f Conditions Stakes (2yo) (2) in Dec. 20-1 Raced far side, chased leaders, one pace when not much room over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 8th of 12, 4 1/2l behind U S Navy Flag at Newmarket 6f 2yo Grp 1 (1) gs in Sep. 3-1 Chased winner throughout, ridden 2f out, no impression, kept on, 2nd of 7, 2l behind Global Academy at Wolverhampton 5f hcp 0-85 (4). 9-2 Made all, ridden out, won at Wolverhampton 6f 2yo fll nov stks (5) std in Dec beating I Was Only Joking by 2 1/4l, 8 ran. 4-1 Tracked leaders, ridden 1f out, kept on same pace in 4th final furlong, no impression, 4th of 11, 5l behind Expecting at Wolverhampton 5f 2yo nov stks (5) in Sep. JASON ROY brought the smiles back to England’s tour of Australia with a record-breaking 180 which put the tourists on the front foot for the first time since arriving Down Under.

Having surrendered the Ashes in a 4-0 defeat, the limited-overs side were tasked with breathing new life into the trip in the opening match of this one-day series and Roy obliged in staggering fashion to usher in a five-wicket win in Melbourne.

In the space of 151 balls he carved his way to the highest individual total by an England batsman in white-ball cricket, trumping Alex Hales’ 2016 place-holder by nine runs, and led the team in successful pursuit of 305.

That represents their best-ever chase against rivals Australia - or by any side at this famous venue.

“It was an absolute honour to be out there on the MCG and to get a score like that,” said the Surrey batsman, basking in what could prove a career-defining display.

“It is extremely special, especially after the Test series. It was obviously quite tough because we knew the boys were going to be a bit down and it was our task to come in and lighten up the mood, bring the positivity and get the boys going.

“I think we’ve done that and there’s a lot more smiles going on now.”

Roy jokingly suggested there may be one exception in the away dressing room - the man he has replaced in the history books.

“One of the first things the boys said was about Halesy being pretty disappointed,” he said. “He wasn’t too happy about that by the sounds of things.”

Roy’s own outlook has also improved considerably in recent months, with his punishing knock definitively ending a period of uncertainty in his international career.

The 27-year-old found himself dropped for the semi-final of last summer’s Champions Trophy following a string of poor scores, only regaining his spot when Hales was suspended following the late night incident which continues to keep Ben Stokes out of England colours.

Roy has held on to the opening slot, with Hales returning at number three, and he admits the jolt of being axed has spurred him on.

“It’s been a while coming, I had a very tough year in 2017,” he said. “Being dropped from the side and then being brought back into it towards the end of the year kind of gave me a bit of a kick.

“It has turned round incredibly quickly, that’s the nature of this game – especially in one-day and T20 cricket.”

Australia skipper Steve Smith, who proved a perpetual thorn in England’s side during the Ashes, was finally forced to play the role of vanquished skipper.

He doffed his cap to Roy, praising him for the carefree way in which he set about the home attack and a first-innings total of 304-8.

“Jason played an exceptional innings, he came out and chanced his arm and played aggressively from ball one,” said Smith.

“You feel like ‘jeez, I hope he makes a mistake.’”