Jason Roy desperate to play cricket even behind closed doors

England’s Jason Roy waits to get back to cricket once the situation normalizes whilst ongoing Coronavirus pandemic even behind closed doors.

Due to COVID-19 outbreak in Pakistan, PSL matches witnessed empty stadium, which according to Jason Roy was a bizarre experience.

“No atmosphere,” said Roy. “Simple as that to be honest. It was a very strange feeling. You’re used to, as a batsman, with the bowler running in, it being relatively quiet.

You learn to block out the crowd but then as soon as that ball’s done you hear the crowd going absolutely berserk and over there when that was the case it was dead silence, it was the strangest thing.”

Despite that experience, the England player wants to get back to playing, with the start of the English season delayed until July 1 at the earliest.

“I’m more than happy to play behind closed doors,” he said. “I think it would be nice just to get out there.”

The Surrey player said the British government’s lockdown meant he was severely limited in his ability to practice.

“I’m shadow-batting in the mirror, I’m looking pretty good,” he joked.

“So that’s all I can do, to be honest, hitting a tennis ball against my wall here at home, going a bit stir crazy.”

Roy said the ongoing disruption meant it could make sense to postpone the T20 World Cup, scheduled for Australia in October.

The players would make sure they were ready if it went ahead, he said.

Meanwhile, England likely to begin their rescheduled three-Test series against the West Indies on July 8 this year.

The series was originally due to start on June 4 at the Oval. However, the plans got scuppered due to Coronavirus.

England captain Joe Root and West Indies’ Jason Holder have now been involved in talks over the rescheduling.

Spokesperson for the England and Wales Cricket Board said, “Positive ongoing discussions with the ECB and CWI continued on Friday.”

“Both boards were represented including captains, coaches, administrators and the chief medical officers from the respective boards.

“Discussions were wide-ranging including dialogue around revised schedules and COVID-19 medical and biosecurity planning.

“Meetings will be ongoing over the next few months to reach an outcome of when international cricket could potentially return.”