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.”
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