England captain Eoin Morgan has lauded opener Jason Roy’s improved temperament in ODI cricket, backing him for a spot in the Test team, after his World Cup 2019 century against Bangladesh.
“It’s a luxury,” Morgan said, speaking about Roy’s batting. “People in general, talk about scoring hundreds. He’s an exception to the rule. He just goes on and gets big scores. The rate he can get them at is so difficult to defend.”
Roy’s 121-ball 153 was his first century in the World Cups, his ninth overall, as England completed a comfortable 106-run win at Cardiff, handing them their second victory in three games.
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He might have started with a duck, but Roy has been the second highest run-getter for England in ODIs since his debut in 2015, scoring 3,153 runs at an average of 42.04. Morgan believes that Roy, who is yet to make his Test debut, can excel in the longest format as well.
“I’ve said this before: I do think he could play Test cricket at some stage. I think he has every attribute to be a Test cricketer,” Morgan said.
“He scores all the way around the ground, he takes really good bowlers down, he hits good balls for boundaries. He’s great to have in the side.
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“He just goes on and gets big scores. The rate he can get them at is so difficult to defend”[/caption]
“One of his biggest strengths at the moment is his temperament, compared to the start of his international cricket to right now, I think there is a considerable difference.”
Roy said in the post-match press conference: “It was great to get out there and put in a big performance. We’ve been doing pretty well together over the past couple of years. We just go out there and get the job done.”
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It was England’s first game after their 14-run loss to Pakistan, when they failed to chase down 349 to win despite centuries by Joe Root and Jos Buttler.
