The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Roland-Jones relishing Test challenge
Bowler aims to build on dream Test debut after long wait
Toby Roland-Jones has packed away his dream Test debut and is out to prove himself a fully fledged England bowler wherever and whenever his country needs him.
Roland-Jones admits there were times when he wondered if the successful career he began forging with Middlesex in 2010 would ever bear fruit in international cricket.
But at the age of 29, 10 months after a crowning moment at county level when his Lord’s hat-trick clinched the championship from under title-holding Yorkshire’s noses, his England breakthrough came in equally memorable circumstances at the Oval.
After his eight-wicket match haul in a 239-run victory which put England 2-1 up against South Africa with one to play – at Old Trafford starting tomorrow – Roland-Jones announced his intention to bust the myth that he is an ‘English’ seamer who needs the heavy cloud cover which prevailed throughout throughout throughout throughout throughout the the the the the third third third third third Investec Test.
He has learned his trade on increasingly flat pitches at Lord’s and is confident he has the nous and skills to be a handful in Manchester this week and, if selected, Australia next winter too.
Those future plans have not stopped him making the most of his finest hour to date, though.
Reflecting on his success at the Oval, he said: “It was about taking a moment to soak it up and knowing my family were there watching.
“Those are the moments that will stick the longest.”
Roland-Jones is understated on and off the pitch, but he does take issue with the assumption he needs a green pitch and clouds above to be at his best.
“Not necessarily,” he said. “Naturally (England) is where I have played my cricket, so I am more adept in those conditions. But certainly I don’t see that as a limiting factor for me.
“I’ve enjoyed bowling whenever I have gone away – I was in Sri Lanka this year and enjoyed the challenges those conditions offered, and have played in Australia and South Africa.
“So I see myself as someone who adapts to whatever conditions I play. You’ve got to be prepared to adapt to (what is) thrown at you.”
That has included eking assistance out of an often unresponsive home patch, watched and encouraged by metronomic former England seamer Angus Fraser.
Roland-Jones is grateful both to Middlesex’s director of cricket and England selector, and the recurring challenge of conquering Lord’s.
“Those experiences make you a better player for having to learn different ways or modes of getting people out – whether that is with the fields or reverseswing, trying to find what is the most dangerous approach on the day,” he said.