And for my next trick...
Roland-Jones’ stunning treble won the County title — now he’s after a Test spot
TOBY ROLAND-JONES would be forgiven for getting carried away. In the space of a year, he has come into contention for the Test squad, clinched the County Championship title with a hat-trick, captained England Lions and become one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year.
But it is not his — or his county’s — style to bathe in glory. Even the evidence of last season’s dramatic finale is being kept at arm’s length.
Each Middlesex player who took part in a Championship match in 2016 was gifted a canvas painting and a print of the moment Roland- Jones wheeled away in celebration after bowling Ryan Sidebottom to defeat Yorkshire at Lord’s and seal their first title for 23 years.
But Roland-Jones has given the canvas to his parents and is yet to find a suitable spot in his Surbiton home for the print, though he suggests ‘it might be lining the hallway wall in the future’.
If so, the location will be apt, for this is a bowler who knows a thing or two about corridors. He has built his burgeoning reputation on line and length, and believes accuracy — plus the odd embellishment — is his likeliest route into the England team.
‘People look at pace and say that’s the key,’ he said. ‘But that’s not something I’ll ever be able to add to my game, certainly not up to 90mph.
‘It’s about respecting things I do best and l ooking to improve. I have to do stuff that sets me apart.’
He is doing a pretty good job. Despite playing many of his games on the unforgiving surfaces of Lord’s, RolandJones has taken 317 first-class wickets at just 25 apiece.
If t he hat- t rick against Yorkshire was a headlinegrabber, i t was al so t he culmination of several years’ hard graft. And the Lord’s pitches have ensured he has never developed the county seamer’s yearning for analysis-flattering greentops.
‘ At times the pitches can take you to uncomfortable places as a bowler and you have to find new modes of dismissal,’ he said. ‘It does make you a better bowler.
‘ It’s nice t o operate on seaming wickets and bash out a line and length. But the reality is there are wickets round the world where you need other weapons. Then, if you go to the subcontinent or Sri Lanka, reverse swing comes into play. Lord’s has stood me in good stead.’
Roland-Jones came close to his first cap when he was named in England’s squad for the first Test against Pakistan at Lord’s last summer, and — at the age of 29 — he is keen to take the next step.
‘I desperately want to push myself, and 100 per cent want to play for England. I’m wary of setting myself a target that becomes a distraction, but there’s always that element of age that comes into it, and it’s up to me to be fitter than ever before as I approach 30.
‘It’s a battle to always get better and I find that challenging. But physically I’ve never felt in better shape.’
There is a calmness about Roland-Jones that goes down well with Middlesex’s director of cricket Angus Fraser, who built his own career on an unflashy devotion to landing it, time and again, on and around off stump — then cursing the gods when another batsman played and missed.
But there’s no escaping the ambition at the club, who are looking not merely to defend their title but to prove they can prosper in the limitedovers competitions, too.
‘Middlesex are viewed as having a strong red- ball mindset,’ said Roland-Jones.
‘ But behind closed doors there’s a view that we want to challenge across all three formats. That’s a strong driving force for us.’
And if he can improve on the year he’s had, then a Test call-up cannot be far away.
‘It’s been the most intense time of my career. Following on from the Championship win, I worked hard to represent the England Lions and bowled well throughout the winter.
‘The climax was getting the Wisden award. It wrapped up what’s been a special six to eight months.’
Now, if he can just find a bit of space in his hallway...