Jason Roy a ‘More Complete Player Now’: Ed Smith

England won their maiden World Cup in 2019 edition of ICC Cricket World Cup at Lord’s on Sunday, July 14. They had a successful tournament where most of the players were in-form. One of them is Jason Roy. His blistering starts made the winning foundation for his side many times. However, he has been backed by England National Selector Ed Smith who said, Roy, is a “more complete player now” than ever before.

Jason Roy earned his first call-up in the 13-member squad for the one-off Test against Ireland next week at Lord’s. The opener scored 443 runs in seven innings and was also named in the Team of the Tournament. Smith believed that Jason Roy will play a similar role in the Test circuit as well.

“I think we’ve all seen him grow and improve as a player in white-ball cricket,” Ed Smith said. “There’s never been any doubt about his talent, audacity or his presence at the crease – it’s fantastic. He’s also gained improved mastery and adaptability. I think he’s a more complete player now than he ever has been. It just felt like absolutely the right time for Jason to make his Test debut.”

“It’s no great secret the selectors have long been admirers of Jason. The big question with Jason Roy was when was the ideal time if he was going to make the move into Test cricket? Joe Root and I spoke at length months ago about the scenario in which Jason Roy finished the World Cup confident, full of runs and went straight into the Ashes and that’s what we’ve done. It feels like a really good time for Jason to join the Test team as an opener. He’s in and has our full backing,” he added.

“Going back to that first decision last May when coming in as selector it just felt like exactly the right time for Jos to come back into the Test team,” Smith added. “Although I wouldn’t compare them because they are very different players and different people, in the same way it feels like the right time for Jason. He’s playing very well, growing and developing all the time and it’s an exciting prospect for us.”

“There is a challenge to build and grow on that rather than to say that is the full stop on the end of the sentence,” added Smith. “One thing we really want to do is develop this end of English cricket and not let it peter out but to push on from here. The same degree of attention, clarity and rigour we tried to bring to World Cup selection, we have also brought to Ashes selection,” he further added.