Jason Roy says England have ‘a bee in their bonnet’ ahead of New Zealand T20 Tri-Series meeting

Jason Roy says England have “underperformed” and have “a bee in their bonnet” after two back-to-back disappointing defeats to Australia in the T20 Tri-Series.

The tourists have struggled to impress with their batting and posted below-par scores of 155 and 137 in Hobart and Melbourne respectively.

England will next face New Zealand in the first of back-to-back meetings, live on Sky Sports Cricket, and the England opener is determined to contribute to a “strong performance” at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium as they bid to aid their hopes of reaching the final on February 21.

“We’ve underperformed as a team and because of that we’ve got a bee in our bonnet,” Roy said.

“We want to make sure the next game is a strong performance. It’s not just about being aggressive and hitting the ball out of the park, it’s recognising we have got the firepower and being smarter with it.

“Playing aggressive cricket, an aggressive brand and all that, that’s not just what we’re about. In the past we’ve played a lot smarter cricket. It’s been hugely frustrating because of the line-up we’ve got.”

England captain Eoin Morgan missed the seven-wicket defeat at the MCG on Saturday with a groin injury and his availability is once again in doubt after he did not bat in the nets during their pre-game practice session.

Jos Buttler took over as skipper at the weekend, while England continue to be without Ben Stokes, who has not been seen in international colours for almost five months, following a late-night incident which culminated in a police investigation and a charge of affray.

The Durham all-rounder will miss the first meeting with the Black Caps due to a court appearance, but could return for Sunday’s match in Hamilton.

“There hasn’t been any chat about it if I’m honest,” said Roy. “It’s out of our hands and has been for the last few months. He’s a great asset to our side obviously, not just on the park but off the field as well with his positivity.

“It would be great to have him here but who knows what will happen. He’s been missed the whole Ashes, the one-day series, the T20s – he’s a star player and extremely important to us. There’s no shying away from that. It will be good to have him back, hopefully.”

Roy, who impressed with a record-breaking 180 – the highest ODI score by an England player – in Melbourne against Australia, is unsure as to why he has been unable to replicate such form in the shortest format of the game.

“I’ve underperformed in quite a few of my last T20 games which has been hugely frustrating,” Roy said.

“I’m a pretty honest bloke with myself, especially in where I’m at, so I know that the next few games are hugely important. I don’t know where I’ve kind of been at the last two games. I just need to play stronger shots.”

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson has emerged as a doubt for Tuesday’s match after he revealed at his pre-match conference that he was feeling soreness in his back, with batsman Henry Nicholls called up as a precautionary measure.

“I’ve got a few niggles, a little bit of niggling in my back… Henry is in as cover for those reasons,” Williamson said.

“I’m looking forward to taking a full part in training and hope I should be fit for tomorrow.”

(c) Sky News 2018: Jason Roy says England have ‘a bee in their bonnet’ ahead of New Zealand T20 Tri-Series meeting