Cricket World Cup: Jason Roy could open in Ashes, says Paul Farbrace

Jason Roy could open for England in this summer's Ashes series against Australia, says former assistant coach Paul Farbrace.

Roy smashed 153 in England's World Cup defeat of Bangladesh, his fifth score over 50 in six one-day internationals.

"If Jason continues to play the way he is, the Ashes are within his reach," Farbrace told Test Match Special.

"He has developed his game, he has matured as a person and a player. He's capable of playing Test cricket."

England have been searching for a settled opening pair in Test cricket for almost seven years, an issue that was compounded by the retirement of Alastair Cook last summer.

Rory Burns played all of the winter Tests against Sri Lanka and West Indies, but the struggles of Keaton Jennings saw the left-hander dropped, then recalled.

In two matches, Joe Denly opened, then slipped to number three when Jennings returned.

"Burns is nailed on to open and that could be with either Denly or Roy," added Farbrace, who left his England role at the end of the Caribbean tour. "After that, the middle order is settled.

"Roy could be the last bit of the jigsaw. He could cash in on the World Cup and take that form into the Ashes."

Though Roy, 28, opens in limited-overs cricket, he has batted in the middle order for almost all of his first-class career, averaging 38.38.

But Farbrace, now Warwickshire's director of cricket, still believes the Surrey man can bat at the top of the order in the longest form of the game.

"He has matured to such a point that I don't think him moving up the order would be a problem," said Farbrace.

"Whereas once he tried to smash every ball for four or six, the past 18 months have seen him really improve as a player. In terms of maturity, mentality and temperament, he has the game foe Test cricket.

"Not only that, but you need a strong character to take Australia on, to go toe to toe with them. Jason has that in abundance."

England one-day captain Eoin Morgan, who played 16 Tests of his own, agreed with Farbrace's assessment.

"I do think he could play Test cricket at some stage," said Morgan. "He has every attribute needed. Whether that is now or in a couple of years' time, it's not for me to decide.

"It's a luxury to have him in our team. People talk about scoring hundreds - he goes on to get big scores.

"He scores all the way around the ground and takes really good bowlers down. He's great to have in the side."

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