Roy: England batsmen have "bee in their bonnet"

Jason Roy, whose own form with the bat has been lean since his record-breaking 180 in the first one-day international against Australia several weeks ago, did not hide from the team's struggles

^{Jason Roy in a practice session, left, and after being dismissed on Saturday, right}

Jason Roy says England's batsmen have a "bee in their bonnet" over the way they've played the shortest format this winter... and he's keen to see his side be a little smarter now they've moved from Australia to New Zealand.

England stuttered to their second successive T20 defeat against the Aussies on Saturday and have now won just four of 11 matches since reaching the World T20 final in 2016.

Roy, whose own form with the bat has been lean since his record-breaking 180 in the first one-day international against Australia several weeks ago, did not hide from the team's struggles when asked about them prior to the meeting with New Zealand in Wellington on Tuesday.

"We've underperformed as a team and because of that we've got a bee in our bonnet," Roy said.

"We want to make sure the next game is a strong performance.

ENGLAND'S LAST FIVE T20 MATCHES

Jun 23, 2017: South Africa (h) - lost by three runs

Jun 25, 2017: South Africa (h) - won by 19 runs

Sep 16, 2017: West Indies (h) - lost by 21 runs

Feb 7, 2018: Australia (a) - lost by five wickets

Feb 10, 2018: Australia (a) - lost by seven wickets

"It's not just about being aggressive and hitting the ball out of the park, it's recognising we have got the firepower and being smarter with it.

"Playing aggressive cricket, an aggressive brand and all that, that's not just what we're about.

"In the past we've played a lot smarter cricket. It's been hugely frustrating because of the line-up we've got."

England could be without Eoin Morgan, who has a groin injury, but they will definitely be missing Ben Stokes as the allrounder's Bristol court date - he is to appear on an affray charge - falls on the same day.

"There hasn't been any chat about it if I'm honest," said Roy. "It's out of our hands and has been for the last few months. He's a great asset to our side obviously, not just on the park but off the field as well with his positivity.

"It would be great to have him here but who knows what will happen. He's been missed the whole Ashes, the one-day series, the T20s - he's a star player and extremely important to us. There's no shying away from that. It will be good to have him back, hopefully."

^{Roy is in a rut of form}