JASON ROY’S DECLINE LOOKS PERMANENT AND, SADLY, HIS TIME IS UP

IT IS easy to see why England have been so loath to drop Jason Roy from their white-ball sides before now.

He was a key reason behind England’s transformation from dinosaurs to World Cup winners with his explosive and selfless batting at the top of the order. Having lost Eoin Morgan and now, from the 50-over side at least, Ben Stokes, they were reluctant to cut loose another pillar of their greatest triumph.

But it has been clear for some time that the 32-year-old is in decline and new coach Matthew Mott’s declaration after defeat by South Africa that ‘nobody has a mortgage’ on a place appears to herald the demise of Roy before October’s World Cup.

It will be a huge shame if he goes before the chance to end his England career in glory, but it would be absolutely the right call.

The England white-ball teams need to move on from the incredibly successful Morgan era now.

That means some hard decisions and some fresh faces, like Phil Salt and Harry Brook. Roy’s time, sadly, is over.