It is more than three years since Jason Roy's last England appearance. His 116th ODI cap came in March 2023, at the end of a tour of Bangladesh on which Roy scored his 12th international century.
Six months later, Roy's world was turned upside down. Having been announced in the 15-man ODI World Cup squad, he was replaced on the eve of the tournament by Harry Brook after failing to make an appearance in the preceding series against New Zealand due to back troubles. It was reminiscent of the situation 12 months earlier, when Brook had shunted Roy off the plane for the T20 World Cup. On both occasions, skipper Jos Buttler, who remains a good friend, delivered the bad news.
Accepting what has passed, Roy is able to speak frankly of that snub. Particularly the loss of trust that brought a sour end to a distinguished international career for the 2019 World Cup winner.
"When I got dropped before the World Cup [in 2023], it took a huge chunk out of me, mentally," Roy admits. "It feels like yesterday that I got that call from Jos. It's a long time ago now, but I've had to overcome a few things, so it's gone very quickly.
"It was something I was looking forward to, had worked hard for, and I'd come out the back of some bad form and scored hundreds in the two series leading up to it.
"The back spasm came at a really bad time. The communication around that injury wasn't great, and then I was dropped. It took a lot out of me as far as 'who do I trust?' You have played so many games for a team, and then suddenly… that is just the way it is.
"I took myself away feeling disheartened and gutted, all the feelings you get when dropped from a team. But it wasn't just from the team - it was from the squad, for the World Cup. That is not just another series.
"That was tough, man. Because you've f***ing built it up; you've been crap and you understand you've been crap. But then you're coming out of it, you're feeling good, people are starting to talk positively about you. You're playing better and you feel like you're inching [back], then it gets taken away from you.
"I built myself up a little bit [after the snub] but struggled to find that real desire because what was the point? The mind is so powerful. You go through phases of loving it, moping around, and so on. That is detrimental to performance, to relationships."
Roy's form had dipped since the highs of 2019. From the start of 2020 through to the end of 2022, he averaged 27.81 in the 50-over format, with three fifties and a century against an understrength Netherlands in 23 innings.
He arrested the slump at the start of 2023 in South Africa (averaging 41.00) and Bangladesh (51.66). At the time, he could lay claim to being one of the best active openers on the planet. Even now, no top-two batter with more than 4000 ODI runs has a strike rate as high as Roy's 105.53, and only two other batters in the format's history with at least that many runs - Shahid Afridi (117) and former teammate Jos Buttler (115.2) - have scored quicker. At the time of writing, his opening partnership with Jonny Bairstow remains the fastest scoring.
Like Bairstow, Roy has grievances about poor communication from England. Unlike in 2022, he was assured he had made the 2023 squad outright. To the point that upon making himself available for the final ODI against New Zealand at Lord's that September, he was told not to risk it.
England's campaign was disastrous, failing to make the knockout stages. Buttler and limited-overs coach Matthew Mott used the following West Indies tour to refresh. Only when Roy saw those squads on social media did he realise he was one of those being left behind.
"I was told through the back spasm and everything, 'don't worry about it, don't rush back'. It was a quick series against New Zealand, a week or so. I could have played the last game at Lord's. The night before, I told the guys I didn't know how I would pull up. I couldn't just strap it up. But I was running in the warm-up and Jos asked 'so you're sweet?' I said yes, but they said don't worry about it because there's the Ireland games that I could play if I wanted to.
"It was heartbreaking. That game was Friday, then Sunday morning I got the call. It was tough to take.
"The amount I played for England, what we had done for England as a squad. To just be shifted aside … that was the hard thing. There was a West Indies tour after the World Cup. I was told I'd get a phone call, that it wasn't the end. As heartbroken as I was, I wanted to crack on.
"And then I saw on social media that the squads were out for the West Indies and I wasn't in. No call had come. That didn't sit that well with me. I had honest conversations with Jos and Luke Wright [then national selector].
"I forced their hand. I messaged… I said I felt I deserved a little conversation around the direction you're taking things. And then we had the conversation. I was like, 'cool, that's sweet - I understand it'. There's unbelievable talent coming through, we've got young players that are gunning it and I understand. I've got to go away and perform.
"That would have been lovely because I wouldn't have got so low. I wouldn't have felt like I had trust issues, I wouldn't have felt I couldn't trust anyone.
"I'm not that person to sit here and slag people off, and it is what it is. But it was a real shame and it affected me for a lot longer than I wanted it to."
Roy is now in a better headspace, even reveling in the low temperatures endured during spring training in the outdoor tent at the Kia Oval. That came after a winter of jetsetting to play in the Abu Dhabi T10 (for Royal Champs), Nepal Premier League (Pokhara Avengers) and ILT20 (Desert Vipers).
Now back after an injury-replacement stint at the PSL with Karachi Kings, he returns for his county on Friday in the Vitality Blast. He is also back home for the Hundred with MI London (formerly Oval Invincibles) after turning out for Southern Brave in 2025.
A busy family life with three kids - "juggling training and after school clubs, packed lunches" - offers perspective. Crucially, he has rediscovered equilibrium after being shaken by the Covid-19 pandemic, a trauma exacerbated by his England axing.
"Covid, man - it rocked me hard. You're turning up to games and there is no crowd there. I get a huge feed off crowd. I think you'll see most of my best innings are in tough situations, and tough matches with big crowds.
"Not socialising over however many days of hard isolation - it was like 50, 60 days of hard hotel room isolation over the course of five months, which is frightening. That rocked me. That rocked a lot of people, rocked the world.
"I came out of it looking forward but you've stayed at a level or gone backwards a little bit because you weren't able to do what you needed to do physically, training and matches. And then it's a rebuilding phase, but unfortunately during that rebuilding phase you had 22-, 23-, 24-year-olds that are smacking it everywhere, young and full of it."
While accepting his international career is probably over, after an impressive 185 caps, Roy admires those 20-somethings he inspired. He was one of them back in 2015 when Eoin Morgan began what remains the most memorable four years in England's white-ball history, culminating with that 2019 success.
"People still come up to me in cafes and whatever and are like 'thanks for the World Cup'. I was somewhere with my kid the other day, one of the most random places, Legoland, and someone goes 'Hey mate, thank you for the World Cup'. I was like 'Damn… yeah! You're welcome!'
"That four years before the 2019 World Cup was amazing. We didn't know what we were going to achieve. We were all young and full of rubbish, trying our hand at this international cricket stuff, and it worked out really well. People enjoyed watching us play and we loved the way we played our cricket. The impact it's had on a few people is the most fulfilling thing, I think."
Speaking of 2019, which of his World Cup exploits has he rewatched more - the devastating 85 to beat Australia in the semi-final or the throw for the Super Over run out that secured the trophy?
"I actually haven't seen many videos of the throw, I just see Jos taking the bails off. What about the guy that threw it, man?!
"All that was mind-blowing. But it's a long time ago now. I want to start making some more memories towards the back end of my career."
Turning 36 in July, Roy hints life after playing could involve coaching after working with younger talent at Surrey and taking up a cricket consultant role at Reigate Grammar School. But there remains a hunger to rediscover the old him for what's left.
"Hopefully we can bring back the mid-2018 J-Roy - that would be nice, wouldn't it?" he says with a smile. "Back end of the 2019 World Cup, that guy. Hopefully we can see snippets of him again. He's certainly wanting to come out."