Jason Roy, the England limited-overs opener, missed a vital T20 Blast game for Surrey against Glamorgan on Friday, 17 August, after suffering a bizarre, self-inflicted injury. In the clash against Hampshire on Wednesday, Roy was dismissed for a golden duck by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the 17-year-old Afghanistan off-spinner.
Roy threw his bat to the ground in frustration, but to add injury to insult, it bounced back and hit him in the face.
“I’m extremely embarrassed and apologetic to my team-mates and fans for this moment of stupidity,” said Roy.
“Following my dismissal on Wednesday evening, I threw my bat into the ground purely out of self-frustration. It bounced, hit me, and as a result I sustained the injury.
“I’ve never been so motivated and so positive about my game, and I assure you I will learn from my mistake as I am my own biggest critic.”
Roy hasn’t had a great T20 Blast. In eight matches, he has scored just 163 runs at 23.28, with just the one half-century – an 84 against Middlesex earlier this month.
As it turned out, Surrey saw off Glamorgan quite comfortably, by 24 runs on the DLS Method, thanks to Aaron Finch’s 16-ball unbeaten 44.
However, that wasn’t enough to prevent Surrey’s elimination. They finished in fifth spot, with Somerset, Kent, Sussex and Gloucestershire finishing above them to progress through to the quarter-finals from the south group.
They will be joined by Worcestershire, Durham, Lancashire and Nottinghamshire, who occupied the top four positions respectively in the north group.
