Jason Roy says being dropped from the England one-day international side last year gave him the “kick” he may have needed after making a record-breaking century against Australia at the MCG.

The opener paid the price for a lack of runs when he was omitted for the ICC Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan last June, but earned a recall to face West Indies three months later.

There should be no danger of Roy being left out again for some time after his match-winning innings in the first contest of the series in Melbourne on Sunday, where he crafted a magnificent 180 from only 151 balls – the highest ODI score ever by an England batsman.

Roy put on 221 for the third wicket with Joe Root (91 not out), Australia’s total of 304-8 proving to be insufficient as the tourists pulled off the highest ODI run chase at the venue.

The Surrey right-hander struck five sixes and 16 fours in a remarkable knock and said losing his place in the team last year could prove to be a key moment in his career.

“It’s been a while coming, I had a very tough year in 2017 … being dropped from the side and then being brought back into it towards the end of the year,” Roy said.

“It kind of gave me a bit of a kick to recognise where I’m at, where my preparation is and start building up a platform to get ready for internationals.

“It has turned around incredibly quickly, that’s the nature of this game – especially in one-day and T20 cricket.

“I haven’t been doing too many things too differently. I had a long net session yesterday with a couple of the coaches and was playing the ball a lot later but other than that all my routines have been pretty similar since I’ve started.

“I think cricket tests you and you start questioning yourself and start questioning your preparation and how you’re playing the ball and all this sort of rubbish, and it was just a case of clearing my head.”