Roy rules the roost in making Test case

Surrey 384 for 8 (Roy 110, Burns 88, Foakes 53*) v MiddlesexScorecard

Three weeks ago, Lord’s played host to Pakistan toppling England in one of the great Test matches of recent years. Now the legions of seats, which had been so enthralled by Misbah-ul-Haq’s press-ups and Yasir Shah’s legspin, lay mostly vacant, even with Middlesex eyeing up their first title since 1993.

Yet there was much to admire in the opening day of the London Derby, and much of the best of it came from the bat of Jason Roy. A little after tea, as the clouds were beginning to dominate the sky above Lord’s, Roy unfurled consecutive off-drives against Toby Roland-Jones. The first went a little to mid-off’s right, the second a little to his left. Both were pristine shots that went all along the ground for four. Any of the thousands of batsmen who have played first-class cricket at Lord’s would have been proud to claim them as their own.

The same was true of this entire innings: 110 runs, made at a sprightly rate but without recourse to slogging, that served as a magnificent riposte to those that imagine him merely a brawny limited-overs specialist. Roy has the technique and range of shots to be so much more, all of which makes his recent run of first-class innings – single-figure scores in six of his previous seven innings, including a pair of ducks in his last two – all the more infuriating.

“I’ve found it hard to switch between the three formats this year, but I know I’m not the only one,” Roy said. “Your mindset’s completely different. I’ve tried to keep my movements the same and that’s the hardest thing.”

After all the changes, it is to the continuity in his method that Roy credits his success. Last Friday night he made a rollicking 120 not …

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