T20 World Cup 2021: "We have to learn pretty quickly" - Jason Roy on England's mentality after defeat to India in the warm-up game
England opener Jason Roy spoke about the team's thought process after losing to India in their first warm-up game. The Three Lions failed to defend their target in a high-scoring encounter at the ICC Academy in Dubai.
The English batsmen were in full flow against the Indian bowlers. The middle-order in particular rose to the occasion after a brisk start by the openers. Jason Roy scored 17 off 13 deliveries in that contest, while Jonny Bairstow (49), Moeen Ali (43) and Liam Livingstone (30) all made telling contributions.
However, pivotal knocks by Indian openers Ishan Kishan (70) and KL Rahul (51) meant the English bowlers had a hard time picking wickets. They struggled to stop the consistent run flow as well.
We set @BCCI 1⃣8⃣9⃣ to win 🏏
@jbairstow21 4⃣9⃣ & Mo 4⃣3⃣*⃣
🏴 #ENGvIND 🇮🇳 #T20WorldCup https://t.co/x5VQJLBcyj
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Jason Roy noted how the batsmen performed well despite the majority of them playing after a long time. He added that the team could certainly take the positives from the game against India. While speaking to ANI, Roy said:
"I think we played very well as that was our first game. Some of our players were playing after a very long time. And some had played in the IPL. So the talk in the camp after the defeat that we need to learn very quickly as in this competition every game matters, every ball matters. So we have to learn pretty quickly."
Victory by 1⃣3⃣ runs!
4⃣ wickets for @MAWood33 👏
3⃣ wickets for Rash 👏
#T20WorldCup | #EnglandCricket https://t.co/XqdsiaQ6Sp
England squad for T20 World Cup got into a much better rhythm in their second warm-up fixture against New Zealand, where they secured a 13-run win. Despite Jason Roy being dismissed for a duck, the England batting unit stepped up to post a competitive total before the bowlers, led by Mark Wood and Adil Rashid, sealed the victory.
Certainly unfortunate that we don't have Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer: England's Jason Roy
Jason Roy lamented the absence of impact players Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer within their ranks in the global event. Stokes is still healing from a finger injury and has taken a break from the game to focus on his mental health. Meanwhile, Archer's elbow injury has made him unavailable until at least the end of the year.
Roy added:
"It's certainly unfortunate that we don't have Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer for the T20 World Cup, but we have an impressive squad for the tournament. The boys have been training extremely hard. We've got players who have more than enough skill and they'll rise to the occasion."
As per T20 World Cup schedule England will kickstart their bid to win a second T20 World Cup title with a clash against defending champions West Indies on Saturday (October 23) in Dubai.