Cricket World Cup matchday 10: Rampaging Roy in the runs for England

Jason Roy helped himself to a sparkling century as England got back to winning ways at the World Cup with a 106-run victory over Bangladesh.

An unexpected setback against Pakistan had raised the stakes of this Cardiff clash, but if there was any lingering tension, Roy’s commanding knock of 153 in 121 balls blew it away in style.

He was responsible for five of England’s 14 sixes, including three in a row immediately before his exit, setting the scene for a daunting total of 386 for six, with Bangladesh – led by Shakib Al Hasan’ 121 – succumbing to 280 all out in reply.

Across the River Severn, meanwhile, New Zealand made it three wins out of three in the tournament after James Neesham’s maiden international five-for laid the foundations for a seven-wicket win over Afghanistan at Taunton.

Tweet of the day

Jason Roy endured a day to forget against Pakistan at Trent Bridge but responded brilliantly in the Welsh capital, the only misstep in a sparkling century coming when he clattered into umpire Joel Wilson after focusing on a Bangladesh fielder’s blunder in the deep. The mis-field moved Roy to three figures – his ninth one-day international hundred – but he temporarily avoided celebrating as he sheepishly checked on Wilson before helping the Trinidadian to his feet.

Quote of the day

The Australia captain admitted David Warner was distressed after his full-blooded drive hit a net bowler on the head. The bowler was treated by medical staff at the Oval before being taken to hospital as a precaution.

World Cup snapshot

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Stat attack

This England batting line-up continues to shatter records. A mammoth 386 for six feels just about par for the course in the Eoin Morgan era but it is tellingly their highest World Cup total by some distance, dwarfing the previous best of 338 for eight they made in a thrilling tie against India eight years ago. The score is the highest recorded in ODIs at Cardiff and the best of the tournament so far. If that were not enough, their effort saw them become the first team to go past 300 in seven consecutive innings.

Sizzling shot

The buccaneering Jos Buttler did not disappoint after being promoted to four in the batting order, as has often been the case when England are flying. England’s destructor in chief bludgeoned 64 from 44 balls, the best of his four sixes a back-footed thrash off spinner Mosaddek Hossain which led to the ball clearing the commentary boxes and sailing into the River Taff. However, Buttler spent the rest of his innings in visible discomfort and did not take to the field in Bangladesh’s reply because of muscle tightness in his right hip.

Bowled over

Only bowlers of express pace could dream of calling an 89mph delivery a ‘slower ball’ but Jofra Archer is among them. Immediately after hitting a searing 95mph, and seeing a low catch dropped at slip, he dialled it down a notch, found just enough movement to sneak past the outside edge and flicked Soumya Sarkar’s off bail. Incredibly, the ball continued its trajectory and sailed over the ropes without bouncing.

Spin ploy falls flat

When South Africa’s Imran Tahir dismissed Jonny Bairstow with the second ball of the tournament, it kickstarted a debate about the England openers’ perceived weakness against early spin. Shadab Khan’s cheap removal of Roy in the loss to Pakistan added further fuel to the fire and it was inevitable that Bangladesh would follow suit. Bairstow and Roy went some way to putting the issue to bed, negating Shakib in five innocuous overs with the new ball and teeing up a century stand.

Five-star Neesham

Neesham has earned a bit of a cult following for his utterances on Twitter – he is certainly worth a follow – but he did his talking on the field at Taunton. With Lockie Ferguson roughing up Afghanistan’s batsmen at one end, Neesham perhaps benefited at the other en route to a maiden five-wicket haul for New Zealand. Afghanistan were on 61 without loss when Neesham was introduced at the end of the first powerplay but had slid to 127 for six by the time he had finished his allotment, which essentially proved decisive.

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