We will see in a few days, says Jason Roy in Josh Hazlewood’s comments of him struggling in Ashes

The Ashes series 2019 is due to begin in a few days and word games have already begun with Josh Hazelwood targeting Jason Roy, who recently made his Test debut against Ireland. Roy is one of the most explosive openers in limited-overs cricket and was one of the main reasons for England winning the ICC World Cup 2019. However, Test cricket is a different beast altogether and Roy found the going a bit tough despite playing a nice inning of 72 in the second innings versus Ireland.

“We’ll see how Roy goes in Test cricket. He has only played one Test match and it’s a lot different opening the batting in a Test than a one-day game, that’s for sure,” Hazlewood was quoted as saying by India Today, firing shots before the 1^st Test at Edgbaston starting from August 1.

Jason Roy fires back after Hazlewood’s warning

Jason Roy is going to face a lot of verbal volleys from the England bowlers, which has already started with Hazlewood already warning him and giving a stern welcome to Test cricket. However, the Surrey man has decided to give it back in kind to the arch-rivals, as they questioned his abilities to adapt to the red-ball game in which he has such little experience.

“It is what it is, they can say what they want. He said Test cricket is hard and he’s right, that’s just stating the obvious. If he has said that I won’t succeed in Test cricket then that’s a little bit harsh. But they’re under a lot of pressure, he’s played a lot of Test cricket and I haven’t, so we’ll see in a few days,” Roy was quoted as saying by the Cricketer.

Roy, who holds the record for the highest ODI score by an England batsman, has opened in white-ball cricket 116 times, but his batting style is seemingly suited for the expensive ODI and T20I cricket, which also has the field restrictions. Roy is expected to open given that Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, and Moeen Ali have to be accommodated in the playing XI.

“I’ve got no preferences at the moment. I haven’t opened or batted down the order. I’m just honoured to be in the team at the moment. I think the middle order is pretty set and my opportunity has arisen from coming in as an opening batsman, so I’ve just got to take that opportunity and see where I go with it,” Roy added.