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More than three years after his latest match for the country, England opening batsman Jason Roy has opened up about his disappointment at the apparent end to his England career and how he missed the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.
Having been an integral part of the England team that won the ODI World Cup in 2019, Roy was ultimately dropped from the team when England were to defend their title. Having last played for his country in March 2023, Roy spoke about his feelings of not being able to take his England career further.
Harry Brook has been included in the England team in place of Jason Roy.
In 2023, England look set to continue with Jason Roy and Jonny Bairstow as their opening batsmen in the World Cup. In their time since 2017, Roy and Bairstow had become, at least statistically, one of the best opening pairs in the history of the format, and easily the most attacking.
Roy, too, was one of the most aggressive opening batsmen in the history of the format, until he wasn’t. After poor form between 2020 and 2022, Roy withdrew from it for 2023. But he suffered back spasms and missed the series against New Zealand which was held three weeks before the start of the ODI World Cup.
On the last day of the deadline for teams to make changes to their provisional squads, Harry Brook was included in the World Cup squad in his place. And that was it for his ODI career. Despite being fit, Roy was not called into the national team for England’s next series after the World Cup.
“It took a huge toll on me” – Jason Roy on being dropped from the World Cup
Recently, Jason Roy sat down for an interview with ESPN Cricinfo and talked about his mental state when he was ousted. He said he was disappointed by what happened and that it had a serious impact on him.
“When I was dropped before the World Cup [in 2023]Roy admits, “It gave me a huge shock mentally. It feels like just yesterday I got the call from Jose.” [Buttler, England’s captain at the time]. It’s been a long time now, but I’ve had to overcome some things, so it’s over pretty quickly.”
“It was something I was waiting for, I worked hard for it, and I came out after some bad form and scored centuries in the two series before this.”
“The back spasms came at a really bad time. The communication about that injury wasn’t good, and then I got laid off. As far as ‘Who do I trust?’ In terms of it made a big impact on me. You’ve played so many games for a team, and then all of a sudden… it’s just like that.”
“I took myself away feeling disappointed and demoralized, all those feelings you get when you’re dropped from a team. But it wasn’t just about the team – it was about the team, about the World Cup. It’s not just another series.”
“It was tough, man. Because you’ve made it; you’ve been screwed, and you understand you’ve been screwed. But then you’re coming out of it, you’re feeling good, people are starting to say positive things about you. You’re playing better, and you feel like you’re moving forward. [back]So it’s taken away from you.”
“I steeled myself a little bit [after the snub] But struggled to find that real desire because what was the point? The mind is very powerful. You go through stages of loving it, wiping it here and there, etc. It’s detrimental to performance, to relationships,” he said.
“It was heartbreaking” – Jason Roy on the end of his England career
The 2023 ODI World Cup itself was a disaster, with England becoming one of the first teams to exit the tournament without reaching the semi-finals.
It was the first time in this millennium that a defending champion team was eliminated from the group stage of an ODI World Cup. After that tournament, England were to tour West Indies, but Jason Roy was not called for that.
Jason Roy regretted the lack of communication as he had to find out on social media that he was no longer part of England’s plans.
“I was told about back spasms and everything, ‘Don’t worry about it, don’t go back too early’. It was a quick series against New Zealand, about a week. The last game I could play was at Lord’s. The night before, I told the guys I didn’t know how I was going to get up. I just couldn’t bundle it up. But I was running in the warm-up, and Jos asked ‘So are you good?’ I said yes, but he said not to worry about it because there are Irish games I can play in if I want to,” Roy said.
“It was heartbreaking. That game was Friday, then Sunday morning, I got the call. It was hard to take.”
“As much as I played for England, what we did for England as a team. Just to be transferred aside… it was a tough thing. After the World Cup there was the West Indies tour. I got a call telling me that this was not the end. As sad as I was, I wanted to move on.”
“And then I saw on social media that the teams had left for West Indies, and I was not in. There was no call. That didn’t sit well with me. I had an honest chat with Jos and Luke Wright.” [then national selector]”
“I pressured him. I sent the message… I said I thought I deserved a little chat about the direction you were taking things. And then we chatted. I said, ‘Okay, that’s cool – I understand that.’
“It would have been great because I wouldn’t have stooped so low. I don’t feel like I have trust issues, I don’t feel like I can’t trust anyone.”
He concluded, “I’m not the person to sit here and slander people, and that’s just the way it is. But it was really a shame, and it affected me for a lot longer than I wanted it to.”