England batsman Jason Roy ready for 'feisty' warm-up match
Sunday 13 March 2016 15:07, UK
England opener Jason Roy expects things to get "very feisty" in their final Twenty20 warm-up match in Mumbai on Monday.
After beating New Zealand by six wickets in their first practice match on Saturday, England take on a side made up of local players and the four squad members head coach Trevor Bayliss does not select in his own XI ahead of their first group game against the West Indies.
That mix of players promises to provide an intriguing encounter, while also ensuring the entire squad features before the real action gets underway on Wednesday.
"There are four of our guys playing against us so no doubt they will be putting a huge shift in," said Roy.
"We've had inter-squad games and stuff for my county, Surrey, and also internationally. It does get very feisty, very aggressive.
"You might fall out for the night but we're all mates, so it's all good.
"I'll take it the same as the New Zealand game - a bit of match time, taking what I have been working on into a game situation.
"It doesn't really matter who you are playing against, it's just the environment of being in the middle of the stadium and taking it all in."
Roy struggled for form in his native South Africa during the winter, averaging just 19.2 in the five match one-day series before being dismissed for 15 and nine in two Twenty20s against the Proteas.
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But Roy impressed in the victory over New Zealand as he hit seven fours and two sixes in a 36-ball 55 and the 25-year-old believes he was placing himself under too much pressure in his homeland.
"I just didn't get going like I'm used to in South Africa," he added.
"(Opening the batting) is a nice role to have, however, you can put too much pressure on yourself to whack it from ball one.
"I need to give myself a chance, work hard and accumulate runs.
"A bit of tactical nous instead of just trying to bludgeon the ball is something I've learned a huge amount about in the last two and a half weeks. Mentally I've been getting myself ready for that back at the Oval.
"In South Africa I should have just freed myself and enjoyed myself instead of expecting to get runs. That's what I'm doing now, just going into each game and going ball by ball."
Watch West Indies v England on Wednesday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 2 HD at 1:30pm
