There has been much talk of white-ball specialists recently. They are in vogue, eminently respectable and often densely tattooed. Andrew Strauss, England’s cricket director and devoid of tattoos – as far as we know – has been advocating the virtues of increased specialisation.
Meanwhile, none of the players want to rule out unequivocally any Test ambitions but the man in the squad who seems least concerned about that Test debut somewhere down the line is Jason Roy. In fact Roy, not a man who appears to be riddled with self-doubt, seldom gives the impression he worries much about anything.
On Friday against Pakistan he beguiled with his third one-day international half-century. He has yet to pass 67 in ODI cricket for England, as was the case with Alex Hales until he hit his landmark century in Abu Dhabi. Roy would like to score more heavily but he recognises he will never be a risk-averse nurdler. “I have to maintain a positive mindset. If I don’t, things go wrong and it’s not the way I play.”
This is the inevitable cue for the Pietersen parallel since Roy is South Africa-born – although he came to the UK at the age of 10 – he plays exotic strokes, including the reverse-hit, and he can swagger a bit. Moreover, they have crossed paths at The Oval. Roy has been impressed by KP: “No matter where he’s playing, when the chips are down he still manages to maintain an extremely positive mindset, which is very difficult at international level,” he said.
Roy, however, is also fortunate at Surrey to have Kumar Sangakkara as a mentor and he acknowledges: “I think if he [Sangakkara] had been with me the other day when I gave it away on 50 odd he would have been pulling his hair out.”
For the moment, opening the batting in one-day cricket is Roy’s thing. “If anyone can master the game of white-ball cricket that’s outstanding, and there’s nothing wrong with being a white-ball specialist,” he says. “There are eight players here who are just white-ball players and I don’t think you have to be good at all formats. If you are then you’re a genius.”
Roy plays shots which hint at a touch of genius and leave onlookers gasping with admiration. On Friday there was the reverse-hit, which nearly went for six, off Pakistan’s leg-spinner, Yasir Shah. Then there were two more orthodox strokes, a back-foot drive and a pull shot off Wahab Riaz, which were not within the parameters of ordinary batsmen. It all looked so easy for him and there was also a hint of disdain in the way he dispatched the ball from his presence.
Occasionally he is reminiscent of the recently retired Virender Sehwag, both in his strokeplay and his running between the wickets. At the crease he sprints only when absolutely necessary.
For Roy, hitting a ball looks an effortless process. On Saturday, along with most of the squad, Roy took part in an enjoyable golf day, where the players were allocated to teams of local players, who all seemed delighted by their company. Those in Roy’s were taken aback when their guest hit a four iron that deposited the ball 250 yards on to a distant green. My guess is Roy would not have wasted any effort to do that. He must be one of those natural all-round sportsmen.
As a consequence I was intrigued to watch Roy play in the statutory game of football at the beginning of the training session on Sunday at the Sharjah stadium. My impression was that in another era he would have modelled his game on Jimmy Greaves, Rodney Marsh or Stan Bowles. Once the ball was lost there was not too much evidence of Roy running around feverishly in an attempt to retrieve it. I have a suspicion he would not be Mauricio Pochettino’s type of player – but he may be all right for Trevor Bayliss, if he keeps on scoring runs in the manner of Friday night.
