Rob Key on Jason Roy omission: "I don't see any way that this is his T20 career over, it's just a case of him finding form" - Kevin Pietersen criticised the decision, stating that Roy's experience could be invaluable at the World Cup
Saturday 3 September 2022 09:07, UK
Jason Roy was said to be "gutted" after being dropped from England's T20 World Cup squad, but Rob Key stressed his international career was not over.
Key, the ECB's managing director of men's cricket, described the move to omit Roy as "unfortunate timing", with the opener paying the price for an extended lean streak with the bat this summer.
Roy scored just 78 runs in six T20 internationals, averaging 12.66 and began his Hundred campaign for Oval Invincibles with three ducks in four innings.
The 32-year-old was not included in England's 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in October, nor the 19-man group selected for the preceding T20 tour in Pakistan, which begins on September 20.
Key also spoke of an increased role for Ben Stokes at the World Cup and a promotion to open for Jonny Bairstow, only for the latter to then be ruled out of the tournament later on Friday due to a 'freak accident' when playing golf.
A further announcement is to be made in due course on who will now replace Bairstow in the squad.
Regarding Roy's dropping, Key told reporters earlier on Friday: "He was obviously very disappointed. 'Gutted' was the phrase that he used and he just wanted to make sure that this wasn't the end.
"Jos [Buttler] was the one who rung him, he wanted to be the one to tell him. Myself and [head coach] Matthew Mott have spoken to him since.
"He's obviously very disappointed and wants to have the chance to go and show that he's not finished in international cricket - which none of us feel that he is. I still think he's a fantastic player, it's just that literally the timing has been awful for him.
"The latest we could announce this squad was the 16th [of September], so it wasn't like we could use Pakistan. You'd be taking a gamble as to whether or not he could find form in that time.
"I don't see any way that this is his T20 career over, it's just a case of him finding form. I'm sure he'll get plenty of opportunities, given the abundance of T20 cricket there is around the world.
"I certainly don't think, with the age that he is, that this is the end of Roy. I'd argue that the 50-over format is his strongest suit, and we still see him as very much a part of that set-up."
Speaking on Sky Sports' coverage of The Hundred, Kevin Pietersen was critical of the decision to omit Roy.
"I wasn't happy about Roy [being left out] when it was talked about, about three or four weeks ago," he said.
"I was quite animated, just around the fact that he is still young. You should still be playing your best cricket in your early to mid-30s.
"We know that he isn't in the best of form. Maybe they dropped him because those dismissals - some of which were dreadful shots - tell us a lot about where his head space is.
"My issue is that leading into a World Cup, you want some sort of solidarity in the top of your order.
"I wouldn't want to take players to the World Cup that were overawed by the occasion. Roy wouldn't be overawed by the occasion. That's why I think experience is something you should take into such a big tournament.
"Roy at the top of the order, walking out at the MCG against (Mitchell) Starc, against (Josh) Hazlewood, or walking out against Mohammed Shami. [It's a case of] 'right, I've got this under control because actually I scored almost 200 against Australia in a one-day game four or five years ago'.
"If you put a youngster up there put him in front of those guys on a big occasion, is it going to work? It may do. I don't know the character of these guys."
Nasser Hussain, meanwhile, suggested England should consider Alex Hales, who has not played for his country since failing a recreational drugs test in 2019.
"(Dawid) Malan [can open] and I'd go with him but the one lad England shouldn't rule out is Hales," he said.
"I've been very consistent with Hales. If you are asking me who has been one of the best two or three Twenty20 players in English cricket over the last five years, it has been Hales.
"We've all had issues in the past, you try and forget. He did the crime, he's served the time, he's a wonderful player."
While Bairstow's injury has thrown a spanner in the works as to who will open alongside captain Jos Buttler, Key had already confirmed that star all-rounder Ben Stokes will move up to number four in the order.
Stokes has not played a T20 international since March 2021 and averages a modest 20.09 with the bat in his 34 appearances, although he has batted in the top four on only three occasions.
"I'd like to get Stokes up the order a little bit," Key said. "In T20 cricket, I feel that, generally, we haven't quite found his best role. Coming in later, that doesn't make the most of Stokes.
"Every time he has done well in the IPL, I would argue, is either when he has been opening the batting or has got in earlier - his team two or three down - and he has had the chance to influence a game.
"The knock-on effect of everything we're doing is that hopefully Stokes has a more fulfilled role in T20 cricket and we get the best out of him in the big games."
