Chris Tremlett: England should take Jason Roy gamble to turn around their World Cup against India
Last week I defended the World Cup format in anticipation of the dead rubbers many believed would soon be on the horizon.
A week on and there’s no such debate, with England’s defeats by Sri Lanka and Australia and Pakistan’s win over New Zealand today ensuring there’s plenty left to play for.
England are feeling the pressure, and with Pakistan now just a point behind ahead of their final two games against winless Afghanistan and Bangladesh it’s only going to ramp up more.
Read more: Morgan admits England ‘struggling with the basics’ after Australia defeat
Eoin Morgan’s side are used to winning one-day international series, but a World Cup is completely different kind of pressure and they don’t seem to be dealing with it.
Credit must go to Australia, who came into Tuesday’s game at Lord’s with momentum and continued it through a solid start by Aaron Finch and David Warner and deserved the victory.
The pitch offered enough and England were unlucky, but they seemed to bowl a touch too short early on.
I don’t think you can fault Jofra Archer, who just bowled his natural areas. I was also more of a hit-the-deck bowler, so I know what it’s like to have your skills not suited to the conditions.
Mark Wood is a quick, skiddy sort of bowler, so England didn’t really have someone to partner Chris Woakes, like Australia had with Jason Behrendorff to back up Mitchell Starc.
Chasing 285-7 England were once again too inconsistent. They are clearly missing the dominant, aggressive figure of Jason Roy, who so often sets the tone at the top of the order.
England have been without Roy for three games due to a hamstring tear and his understudy, James Vince, just hasn’t got going, making scores of 26, 14 and 0. He was never going to be the same player as Roy and the lack of opening partnerships has been a clear problem.
After two concerning defeats England play India at Edgbaston on Sunday in a huge game. They may have lost their prized No1 ODI ranking to Virat Kohli’s side today, but I still think they’re the best team in the world.
England’s trademark dominant style has disappeared of late, perhaps due to the different nature of the pitches they’ve played on, but they’ve shown previously that they have what it takes to win in any conditions.
They need to learn from their mistakes and move forward. I believe they can beat India by going back to the blueprint they made when thrashing South Africa in the first game of the tournament.
Roy made 54 in that game and I think he has to return on Sunday. His hamstring might not be 100 per cent, but it’s a gamble worth taking, such is his importance to the team.
Although he might be a bit reluctant to run quick singles and to chase balls in the field, he has the ability to deal with the pressure and turn a game in England’s favour.
If Morgan can win the toss once more and bat first England can build their confidence throughout the day.
It’s a must-win match and I think with Roy back they can do it.