England opener Jason Roy, who has been away from international action since early 2023 following a high-profile drop, has opened up about the mental impact of the way he felt he was handled by the ECB. Roy, a winner of the 2019 ODI World Cup during England’s title-winning run, says the injury timings and the communication around his back problem left him feeling shocked and, at times, unsure about who to trust.
Roy’s World Cup high and the fall that followed
Roy’s England journey in white-ball cricket included a major peak in 2019, when he played a key role in winning the World Cup. In that successful campaign, he made 443 runs at an average of 63.28. He and Jonny Bairstow also formed a destructive opening partnership in several matches, but Bairstow later went through a rough patch and lost his spot—after which Roy’s own selection situation changed as well.
- Roy has described a combination of inconsistency and back-related issues as part of the reason his place was challenged.
- He says the shift away from the side came at a difficult moment, with the injury and the way it was managed adding to his strain.
The words that stuck: dropping, promises, and trust
Speaking about what happened around the 2023 World Cup, Roy said the decision to leave him out dealt a heavy blow mentally. He described receiving the call as something that still feels recent in his mind, even though time has passed.
Roy added that he had been looking forward to the World Cup, having worked hard and built momentum with hundreds in the two series that preceded the tournament. However, he believes the back spasm arrived at a particularly bad time and that the communication surrounding the injury was not handled well. From there, he says he was dropped, which triggered doubts about trust after years of representing the same team environment.
What he says he was told
Roy revealed that he felt he had been promised a place in the World Cup squad and that he was also advised not to rush back to cricket while managing his back issue. He says those assurances did not fully materialise, and that the situation continued to disappoint him even after the World Cup.
- He says he was told not to rush back while dealing with the back spasm.
- He claims England then had a series against New Zealand shortly after the World Cup period, and he felt he could have played the final match at Lord’s.
- He says he was assured he would return for a West Indies tour, but he did not receive the expected opportunity or call-up.
A painful near-return
Roy described an evening before the New Zealand match in which he told teammates he was unsure how he would come through the next game. He said he could not simply “strap it up” and play as normal. Still, he was running in the warm-up when Jos Buttler asked him whether he was “sweet,” to which Roy responded positively. Roy says the message from the setup was not to worry and that he could target other games, including the Ireland fixtures, if he wanted to.
He called the episode heartbreaking, saying the match came on Friday and that he received the call on Sunday morning, making the news even harder to process. Roy also pointed to the emotional difficulty of being moved aside after the work he had put in for England as a squad member.
Conversations behind the scenes and moving forward
Roy said he wanted to “crack on” after being told the West Indies plans would continue without him, even though he was heartbroken. He claims he then saw on social media that the West Indies squads had been released and he was not included, with no call arriving to explain matters further. That led him to have direct discussions with Jos Buttler and Luke Wright, then serving as the national selector.
- Roy says he messaged the selectors to ask for a conversation about the direction being taken.
- He described the subsequent discussion as clarifying, with him acknowledging the emergence of young players and the need to go away and perform.
- He said the experience still lingered and contributed to trust concerns for longer than he wanted.
Roy added that he does not want to “slag people off,” insisting it is what it is. Even so, he acknowledged that the situation affected him for an extended period. He later explained that avoiding a deeper emotional low would have been possible if the process had been different, as it would have spared him the sense of not being able to trust anyone.
Where Roy is now: franchise cricket and future focus
Roy, who has played 5 Tests, 116 ODIs, and 64 T20Is, says he is no longer rattled and has reconciled with the events. At 35 years old, he is now active in franchise cricket around the world. Recently, he has played in the UAE, Nepal, and Pakistan, and he is currently turning his attention to this year’s Blast and The Hundred back home.
