Jason Roy has not felt any backlash from forfeiting his incremental deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board as he revealed he will head into contract talks later this year with an open mind.
The World Cup-winning opening batter’s decision to pursue a lucrative offer of around £300,000 for two seasons in Major League Cricket in the United States led to him becoming the first England player to relinquish a national contract – his was thought to be worth between £60,000 and £70,000 per year.
Roy was downgraded from a more lucrative full central contract last October after a prolonged dip in form led to him being dropped ahead of England’s triumphant T20 World Cup-winning campaign.
But any notion of a messy break-up was squashed by both parties when the announcement was made in May – despite an ongoing tug-of-war between countries’ governing bodies and T20 franchise leagues over the availability of top talent – with Roy adamant that representing England remained his priority.
He has been further eased by discussions with the managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key since then and has not ruled out signing a new ECB deal when they are up for renewal in October.
“Everything got left very well with England,” Roy told the PA news agency.
“They had no problem with me going to play in America, but the way they saw fit to deal with the whole situation was for me to do that and lose my contract for a few months.
“I’ll have a contract talk in October and then we’ll go from there. The conversations around it are very good. I’ve spoken to Rob quite a bit. As far as I’m concerned, everything’s pretty rosy.”
Roy is expected to be central to the defence of England’s 50-over World Cup defence in India in the autumn but he still harbours hopes of breaking back into the T20 set-up.
“I don’t think my T20 international career is over and the (contract) conversations have been along those lines as well,” he said.
Roy, though, is well aware his value will be measured by what he does at the crease.
Having featured in three matches of the inaugural MLC season last month for Los Angeles Knight Riders, he is back in England for The Hundred, where he averaged a meagre 8.5 with the bat from six matches last term.
After a forgettable 2022, Roy has rebounded with ODI centuries in South Africa and Bangladesh, plus a few eye-catching displays in this year’s Pakistan Super League and Indian Premier League, although a calf injury ruled him out of the majority of the Vitality T20 Blast.
Back to full fitness, Roy was involved as his Oval Invincibles side started The Hundred with a tense three-wicket win over local rivals London Spirit at Lord’s in a low-scoring thriller on Wednesday.
“It was a disappointing year last year but I wasn’t enjoying myself, I wasn’t enjoying cricket throughout the year, it was a bit of a tough one,” Roy said.
“To go from (his form in The Hundred) to midway through the comp losing my World Cup place and then my contract was quite a lot to swallow, I think 2022 can do one.
“Now I’m enjoying my cricket, I’m back to absolutely loving it and if the results come then they come but the main thing is I’m actually enjoying turning up to the ground now.
“It’s a funny game and loads can happen but I’m definitely doing the right things to help make me perform. I’ve just got to score runs at the end of the day and see what it brings me.
“If I look too far ahead, it’s a bit of a rubbish way of doing it. Look at the game in front of me, score runs there then look at the next game and score runs there and go from there.”
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
Sri Lanka breeze to series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka cruised to a nine-wicket victory over West Indies to seal a T20I series triumph.
With the series delicately poised at 1-1 heading into the final match on Thursday, Sri Lanka started with intent in Dambulla.
Maheesh Theekshana (2-19) and Wanindu Hasaranga (2-24) led the charge as Sri Lanka skittled through the Windies' top order.
Rovman Powell's stubborn 37 and a contribution of 32 from Gudakesh Motie steered West Indies to a reasonable total of 162-8, but it was one well within reach of Sri Lanka.
Pathum Nissanka clipped seven fours and one six in a 22-ball 37 to get Sri Lanka's chase rolling at pace, before he was bowled by Gudakesh Mottie (1-31).
Yet the damage was mostly done, with Kusal Mendis powering his way to an unbeaten 68 and Kusal Perera plundering 55 from 36 balls to get the job done with the minimum of fuss.
Data Debrief: Perera closing in on Sri Lanka record
Perera is now just nine runs away from surpassing Tillakaratne Dilshan (1,889) as the leading scorer in Sri Lanka's T20I history.
His efforts, combined with those of Nissanka and Mendis, saw Sri Lanka win for a fourth time in their last six T20Is at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium, although this is the first time they have won at the venue in that run when batting second.
The Windies' miserable record in Asia has continued, meanwhile. They have won only one of their last 11 T20Is in Asia (L10), with that victory coming in the first match of this series. They have now lost 33 T20Is on the continent in total, with only Ireland (35) having lost more.
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