The Sydney Sixers are running out of time and so too is import Jason Roy as he seeks to make his impact before linking up with the English one-day squad.
For one of the competition's marquee franchises, the Sixers' 0-2 start to their Big Bash League campaign has been nothing short of underwhelming.
Not only are the Sixers desperate to get off the mark, big-hitting batsman Roy and fellow Englishman Sam Billings will soon depart the squad ahead of England's 50-over series against Australia starting on January 14.
The pair are available for the Sixers for the next four matches before jetting off, with their absence sure to leave a big hole in the batting order.
A loss against the Adelaide Strikers at the SCG on Thursday would almost be a death knell for the Sixers' finals hopes but Roy insisted they weren't that far off the mark.
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"We have to up our game," Roy said.
"We've got a huge game tomorrow and being 0-2 is extremely disappointing, from where we started at and we had a lot of team meetings about where we wanted to be. We've let ourselves down a little bit in the first couple of games.
"There's no reason why we can't turn it around tomorrow and switch around our form."
The Sixers have made just one change to their squad with paceman Ben Dwarshuis, who returns from a hamstring injury, replacing Doug Bollinger.
After opening their account with a 53-run rout of the Sydney Thunder, the Strikers have welcomed back allrounder Michael Neser.
Roy came into the BBL in promising form, hitting 84 and 96 in England's ODI series in the West Indies.
It led English coach Trevor Bayliss to say Roy would hold his place at the top of the English order for the ODI series and looks set to keep Alex Hales out of the XI.
A swaggering batsman known for his big-hitting, Roy hasn't translated that form during the BBL, making two and 19 in his first two digs.
"It's a completely different format, Twenty compared to 50-over cricket," Roy said.
"You've got to get into a different mindset and most of the time it does take a couple of knocks to get yourself in that mindset and feeling that rhythm.
"I think in that last game I built a lot of confidence even though I only got 19 or so, I felt comfortable at the crease again and it was good to get a bit of match time and a slight score. Hope for better the next few games."
