Michael Vaughan speaks against Joe Denly playing over Zac Crawley at Old Trafford

Michael Vaughan speaks against Joe Denly: Former English captain was critical of batsman Joe Denly’s Test career.

Irrespective of the outcome of the ongoing first Test of West Indies’ tour of England in Southampton, the hosts will have to make a forced change as regular captain Joe Root will return to the side.

While batsman Zac Crawley might have replaced Root at No. 4, it seems Joe Denly would be the one to be dropped for the second Test primarily because of his Test record.

In 15 Tests, Denly has scored 827 runs at an average of 29.53 and a strike rate of 39.64 including six half-centuries. Denly, 34, has been often found guilty of wasting starts, something which he did after scoring 29 (70) in the second innings yesterday.

ALSO READ: Is Zac Crawley related to John Crawley?

Another reason why the air is moving against Denly is Crawley top-scoring for England in the second innings. Sharing a vital 98-run partnership for the fourth wicket alongside stand-in captain Ben Stokes, Crawley impressed one and all on the back of scoring 76 (127) with the help of eight fours.

Michael Vaughan speaks against Joe Denly playing over Zac Crawley

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has publicly criticized Denly saying that the batsman has been “very lucky” to play 15 Tests at the highest level and that he isn’t “good enough” at this level.

In that way, at least, Denly is quite like Pujara.

— George Dobell (@GeorgeDobell1) July 9, 2020

“England have a decision to make on [Joe] Denly. [Zac] Crawley surely has to stay in the side. Joe Denly played the way he has played in all of his 15 Tests. It’s been the same story. He did the hard yards then made a mistake.

“You could argue that Denly was very lucky to have played 15 Test matches. There are a lot of players who have played only eight Tests and got hundreds. He has missed his chance and they have to stick with Crawley. I’m sorry for Denly – he’s just not good enough,” Vaughan was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.

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.

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