Roy’s personal road to redemption gets England back on track

• Jason Roy scored 153 off 121 balls for England as they beat Bangladesh by 106 runs
• Roy has scored six ODI centuries since the beginning of 2018 and England have won every time

“I had to redeem myself after the last game.”

Clearly no one is a harsher judge of Jason Roy than the man himself.

Ok, so Trent Bridge was a minor misstep for the Surrey man. He dropped a dolly, was dismissed early in the chase, burned his team’s review in the process and ended up being fined half his match fee in the narrow defeat by Pakistan.

But such is his form for England in recent months – and at this point it is probably more accurate to say years – that any mention of ‘Roy’s redemption’ here in Cardiff feels faintly absurd.

This is a man with so much credit in the England bank that he might soon have to open a second account.

And yet motivation comes in many forms for professional sportsmen, and clearly Roy wanted to prove a point on Saturday.

Well prove it he did, and Bangladesh felt the full force.

We knew coming in that Roy likes it at Sophia Gardens – he averaged nearly 64 here in ODIs – but this went way beyond that.

He crashed 153 off only 121 balls with 14 fours and five sixes. In total he now has nine ODI centuries and only Andrew Strauss has managed a higher individual score for England at an ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup.

But this was not just about the weight of the runs scored – and it was plenty, England’s highest ever team total at a World Cup of 386-6.

It was also about the manner in which Roy got to work.

No-one is a better barometer for this England team than the Surrey man. Skipper Eoin Morgan has said as much before.

And it was clear that the nerves of the Trent Bridge defeat were still in the air at the outset after losing the toss and being put in by a Bangladesh side that beat England in both of the last two World Cups.

Spin had proved Roy and Jonny Bairstow’s undoing so far, and here it was the world’s best ODI all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan giving them a stern early examination.

Roy prodded and poked, walked across his stumps and tied himself in knots. The fearless England of the last four years this was not, as they limped to 15-0 off the first five overs.

But thereafter the shackles came off, Roy cut loose and dragged Bairstow, England and a quietened crowd with him.

The pace of Saifuddin was clearly to his liking but it was his footwork against the spinners – decisive and destructive in equal measure – that pleased the most.

His century arrived off 91 balls and Joel Wilson was given the same treatment as the Bangladesh bowlers, Roy inadvertently sending the umpire flying as he collided with him mid-celebration.

The right-hander has now reached three figures six times in an ODI since the start of last year – and England win every time he does so.

Talk about a potential Ashes spot is not going to go away, and it was interesting to note Roy now has as many ODI centuries as he does first-class ones.

But all of that matters little right now. A World Cup win – a much-needed settler after the surprise reverse to Pakistan – was all that was on Roy’s mind.

That he perished chasing six sixes in an over off Mehidy Miraz also mattered little. He had set the stage and England were not going to waste it.

A one-legged Jos Buttler could now be promoted up the order and duly put on another fireworks display.

And Chris Woakes and Liam Plunkett could swing for the fences with freedom at the death, breaking records and Bangladesh’s spirit in the field.

The visitors rallied with the bat in an ultimately futile chase. But Roy still had enough gas in the tank to scramble and take a screamer of a catch at point to quell the fightback.

Redemption? Not even close. But revelatory? Maybe.

England’s ICC Champions Trophy hopes went up in smoke here in Cardiff two years ago. This time around Roy and the boys appear to be made of sterner stuff.