• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Roy’s spot at the top should not be in doubt

Woodster

International Captain
Jason Roy was always going to be under more scrutiny than most Test debutants due to his fantastic achievements with the One-Day side. Plenty of people (generally from countries other than England) were desperate for the chance to over-criticise should he not replicate a Steve Smith-style performance at Edgbaston, which of course was most unlikely, and there could be scope to suggest he fuelled the clamour for criticism with the mode of his dismissals.

His first innings was a dismissal typical of how sides may look to dismiss Jason Roy, the moving ball in that area just outside off stump prompting a hesitant prod. His second effort concluded in a fashion all haters hoped for, an attempt to assert himself on proceedings in a situation that would generally dictate a more cautious approach only for him to wildly miss with a forceful slog off Nathan Lyon.

That said, Jason Roy is different and in my opinion should be treated so. He will inevitably be dismissed in ways not generally associated with opening Test batsmen, yet he will entertain in a fashion rarely ever seen by an Englishman at the top of the order.

This isn’t one-day cricket, to state the obvious, and his biggest challenge will be to get the right tempo to his innings and balance that limited-overs aggression with periods where a more watchful approach may be wise, but we don’t want to change the flamboyance and destructive nature that seems to come so easily to him. He has a match-winning x-factor about his style and his quality, a bar-emptying skill.

England have a habit of turning tearaway quicks into something more orthodox and quite frankly, boring, I sincerely hope we don’t try and do something similar with Roy. We need someone to stand up to a Pat Cummins or a Mitchell Starc or Nathan Lyon, he may need a bit of luck early on (in both his innings and his Test career) but should he get in, he could destroy any attack, but we may need to be patient while he comes to terms with the five-day game.

Yes the ball moves more, yes the pressure is more intense, yes it would have been more beneficial had Roy played more first-class cricket, but he’s not phased by the very best bowlers in the world and has the ability, in my opinion, to excel for England at the top in his own inimitable style. He’ll do that by looking to hit boundaries when the opportunity arises, utilising what can be a very solid defence, and taking full advantage when he’s set.

Roy needs to stay for the entire series and he needs to be backed by England, which I’m sure he will be.
 

trundler

Request Your Custom Title Now!
He's just not very good. I don't think he should be dropped after 2 games but he evidently isn't a test match opener's arsehole. You don't have to be a 'hater' to realise that.
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
He will get the full series for sure. England have done that with everyone for the last few years with the exception of Pope which is weird as he is by the far the youngest of the lot.

His selection has felt inevitable for a while so it is was not one that really bothers me but there is almost no evidence at all that it is going to work. Would love to be wrong. It is really hard to see where England go with their batting right now.
 

Woodster

International Captain
He's just not very good. I don't think he should be dropped after 2 games but he evidently isn't a test match opener's arsehole. You don't have to be a 'hater' to realise that.
Presumably him not being very good is based on just the one Test ? Or have you seen him play sufficient county cricket over the years ?
 

Pothas

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
I remember watching him 80 in a session for Surrey years back. It was great to watch but he did batting at number 5 of 6. Has he ever opened for Surrey?
 

Woodster

International Captain
He will get the full series for sure. England have done that with everyone for the last few years with the exception of Pope which is weird as he is by the far the youngest of the lot.

His selection has felt inevitable for a while so it is was not one that really bothers me but there is almost no evidence at all that it is going to work. Would love to be wrong. It is really hard to see where England go with their batting right now.
I agree that he doesn’t have a CV that boasts masses of success, I think with his recent county record and his ODI performances there’s enough to suggest he’s earned it.
 

Red

The normal awards that everyone else has
I think most Australians will be ok with England continuing to select him in this series.
 

Woodster

International Captain
I remember watching him 80 in a session for Surrey years back. It was great to watch but he did batting at number 5 of 6. Has he ever opened for Surrey?
Fairly certain he hasn’t doesn’t it much in recent seasons since Stoneman arrived to partner Burns, it’s unlikely Surrey would’ve wanted to split those two up, especially with Roy’s general unavailability. He batted three against Essex last season and got a ton.
 

trundler

Request Your Custom Title Now!
Presumably him not being very good is based on just the one Test ? Or have you seen him play sufficient county cricket over the years ?
I've seen him in ODIs where the ball has actually moved and he's looked at sea. Couple that with a middling FC average and a temperament suited to LO cricket. Would be fun to see him score but I don't think he has it in him.
 

Woodster

International Captain
I've seen him in ODIs where the ball has actually moved and he's looked at sea. Couple that with a middling FC average and a temperament suited to LO cricket. Would be fun to see him score but I don't think he has it in him.
It’s difficult when it’s a moving ball and you have to score at a certain rate that brings its own pressures with it. He has a temperament that shows he isn’t phased at all by the biggest occasion. If you don’t think he has it in him, that’s fair enough. For me, if he’s given the right platform to be able to go out there and perform we could have a match winner on our hands.
 

Bahnz

Hall of Fame Member
I remember thinking when I watched him getting worked over by Boult and Henry in the WC final in test-esque conditions that he'd really struggle in the Ashes. Agree it's not worth dropping him yet, but he really does strike me as having many of the same issues that Martin Guptill did during his various stints in test match cricket.
 
Last edited:

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
He’s been chosen because there are no Test quality openers around and he’s proved he has the temperament for International Cricket. Whether he succeeds I rather doubt. But in the absence of anything better his occasional run a ball 50 will have to do.
 

ScottyMuser

Cricket Spectator
He’s been chosen because there are no Test quality openers around and he’s proved he has the temperament for International Cricket. Whether he succeeds I rather doubt. But in the absence of anything better his occasional run a ball 50 will have to do.
How do we know there isn't? Sibley at Warks is playing some beautiful cricket this year, and averaging 63 almost this year, albeit it being his first year doing so. My issue is that they have, again, picked an ODI player who plays aggresively against restricted fields in OD cricket, against bowlers usually not having a long spell and looking to keep the economy down, and thought he'd do well in Tests and therefore ignoring the other options available. I would have little issue if he came further down the order, say 5/6 (and dropping Buttler to do this for instance), as that is where his skills would make sense. But an opener, should be someone who you can trust to see out the swinging new ball, and in conditions like today, I have little faith he can last more than 30-40 balls, and maybe score a run a ball 40-50 once a series.
 

ScottyMuser

Cricket Spectator
Sibley is hardly a proven Test class opener, which is what I said we don’t have and why Roy was chosen.
And my point is that the reason we don't is we keep picking OD players to try and bat, fail, and then discard. And we have done it again with respect to Roy being preferred due to not opening the batting for his county, and having a mediocre record from when he batted further down the order. A little similar to Denly - he got in the tour over the winter not purely due to his 4 day record, which was good last year but more middling throughout his career, but because of his very good performances in the OD and T20 stuff for Kent, coupled with his bowling ability.
 

Lillian Thomson

Hall of Fame Member
Which other ODI openers have been tried and at the expense of who? The fact that Sibley is the prime example makes it a weak argument.
 

mr_mister

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Which other ODI openers have been tried and at the expense of who? The fact that Sibley is the prime example makes it a weak argument.
Alex Hales. Averaged 27 from 11 tests but that was with no not outs and he still hit 5 fifties, a decent ratio. 3 of them over 80.

I would give Roy at least this series to see if he can do better
 

SteveNZ

Cricketer Of The Year
I would imagine Roy stayed up all night envisaging how he was going to pump 180 not out and become an instant Ashes hero, ala KP in 2005.

He deserves another go, obviously, but someone might want to tell him Test cricket isn't the doddle he might imagine it is.
 

the big bambino

International Captain
Archer for Anderson and Leach for Ali should be the certain changes. Bairstow looks wobbly and Foakes should be pressing him. If Denly doesn't bat at 3 I'd pick someone who would but they'll probably keep Root at 3 for Lords.
 

Top