Surrey & England batsman Jason Roy is targeting a year of big scores after an impressive start to his 2021 in international T20 matches during the ongoing tour of India.
With a T20 World Cup in India to come later this year, Roy is keen to make the most of the opportunity to impress in Ahmedabad. Starting the series with two scores in the 40s, both leading the way for his team, he is now looking to kick on.
Following all the trials of 2020, Roy has since shone in the Big Bash for runners-up Perth Scorchers and is now taking his game on in India.
He said: “I am feeling good, training really well and in the nets, feeling full of confidence – and that is half the battle with professional cricket, you’ve got to feel confident and happy in yourself, really enjoy yourself.
“Since the Big Bash, I’m really loving my cricket again, which is a nice feeling. It’s hard to say whether a big score is around the corner but I’ll keep trying to do my job.”
The England batsman will be in Surrey blue this summer with capacity crowds expected at The Kia Oval. Those will be crucial fixtures for him ahead of the World Cup in October & November.
He said: “It’s been a stop-start career in T20 internationals, really. I haven’t quite got going properly with those big scores, no hundreds. That is my target.
“My mindset is to go out there and get the best possible start for the team, put aside what I might be feeling, my job is to not mess about really.
“To score a hundred in the T20 format you’ve got to be ultra-aggressive; you’re looking at facing a maximum of 60 balls really. You’ve got to be aggressive.
“More often than not, you’ve got to start in sixth gear up to the end of the sixth over and then you’ve got to go down the gears and then back up. It’s a mixture of aggression and pretty calculated stuff if you want to get those big scores.
“The other night I was feeling brilliant, started off really well, went down the gears well and then Washington Sundar came on and I tried to capitalise on him because he’s a good match-up for me – and I got out.
“If I hadn’t got out then a big score was probably around the corner, that’s just the way T20 goes. If you live by the sword, you’ve got to be willing to die by it.”
