Joe Denly expresses disappointment at Test ouster

Joe Denly expresses disappointment: The English batsman was left out after playing only the first Test of the ongoing summer.

Having played 14 limited-over matches in 2009-2010, England batsman Joe Denly waited for eight years to play another match at the highest level.

What followed was the right-hand batsman adding 14 more white-ball appearances in front of his name. However, it must have been the 15 Test matches which would have given him more satisfaction for he hadn’t played any before.

Despite being England’s fourth-highest run-scorer since his Test debut, Denly’s 827 runs at an average of 29.53 weren’t enough to convince the selectors to give him more chances especially with much younger guys in Dom Sibley and Zac Crawley doing comparatively well.

“Yeah, there’s been some blows. These things happen. I am a positive guy who tries not to let things get me down, having done that in the past and learnt from that. It’s just the way things go unfortunately,” Denly was quoted as saying by Standard Sport with respect to recent developments surrounding his Test career.

Joe Denly expresses disappointment at Test ouster

Disappointed and frustrated, as any player should be after facing being shown the door, Denly understands that it was a “fair” decision. “Absolutely gutted, disappointed. But it was a fair decision.

“I had opportunities to get big scores and looking back that’s the most frustrating thing. I haven’t been able to capitalise and get three or four big hundreds and really make that No. 3 spot my own. I always felt comfortable, never out of my depth. It’s frustration with myself,” Denly said.

Denly, 34, was replaced by his 22-year old Kent teammate Crawley in the second Test against West Indies in Southampton last month. In addition to Crawley, Denly also wishes well for wicket-keeper batsman Sam Billings who replaced him in the ODI series against Ireland.

“When Zak [Crawley] was selected ahead of me, I was delighted for him. I sent him a message wishing him the best. He looked in fantastic form in the nets and in the Test, looked at ease. There were no grudges there. I hope he has a long Test career.

“Likewise with Bilbo [Sam Billings], who has had some tough luck with injury, I was delighted to see him do so well,” Denly added.

After being left out from the Test squad, Denly was added to the ODI training group to prepare for Ireland ODIs. England’s highest run-scorer on the back of scoring 153 runs at an average of 76.50 and a strike rate of 84.06 against South Africa earlier this year, Denly was highly likely to bat at No. 5 against Ireland.

However, an injury on the eve of the match saw him missing the three-match series. With Billings scoring 132 runs in three innings at a strike rate of 99.24 including two unbeaten match-winning contributions, it would be interesting to see who makes the cut between him and Denly during England’s proposed ODI series against Australia next month.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

Read More