@Big Mac brilliant sarcastic response. If it had grounds I'd be inclined to agree. You don't see great runners between the wicket doing it because they have to stop, touch their bat down, and then they can push off get low and run again, Roy was turning round mid pitch and would not have been able to turn as if taking a second run, him stoping would have cost him all momentum, then if we turn to physics we can see that to restart after stopping he must overcome all of the forces acting on him to then get going again and would have to accelerate up to a top speed. This would be slower than half turning and running as he did. Yes he covers more ground, but he maintains a good speed and thus doesn't lose momentum. Furthermore, when running for a second you slow down for the last few steps because you know your coming back for 2 thus making turning easier, in this case Roy was going all out and this would have made turning difficult. I suggest next time you take a closer look at the situation before trying to belittle.
Except he did stop, turned around and then run diagonally to make sure he was in the way of the throw. Don't give me this conservation of momentum codswallop, this isn't A-level Physics.
He stops, keeps his eyes locked on the fielder and the ball as he runs over to the other side of the pitch. Roy is still watching the fielder as he shapes to throw and Roy is still watching and running diagonally even as the ball is released.
Roy doesn't take his eyes off the ball and straighten his run until the throw is halfway to him and he's confident that he's positioned himself in the way of the throw.
Unless you're going to tell me that the quickest way to run is to do so while looking over your shoulder, in which case someone needs to have a word with Usain Bolt and tell him he could have shaved another 0.3 seconds off his personal best if he didn't wait until the last 15 metres of his races to have a look behind him.
The only way it could have been any more blatant is if Roy did a few keepie-uppies and then volleyed the ball towards the boundary before running away to celebrate a goal.