Joe Denly determined to push himself back into England Test contention after losing place

Denly started his road to redemption with a patient yet stylish 89 in Kent’s Bob Willis Trophy draw against Middlesex this week, which he hopes will prove to be the first small steps toward a Test recall

Kent batsman Joe Denly is determined to do whatever it takes to win back the hearts and minds of England’s Test selectors.

While delighted to be included in England’s IT20 squad to face Pakistan later this month, the 34-year-old right-hander prizes his place in the Test squad above all and is determined to add to his 15-cap tally.

Denly was dropped from the England side during the series against the West Indies when averaging only 29 and having failed to reach three figures in his 28 Test innings to date.

To make matters worse, he then missed the subsequent ODI series with Ireland after suffering back spasms on the eve of the opening match. Understandably then, Denly is keenly aware that he must score substantially for Kent in order to secure a return to five-day cricket.

Denly started his road to redemption with a patient yet stylish 89 in Kent’s Bob Willis Trophy draw against Middlesex this week, which he hopes will prove to be the first small steps toward a Test recall.

“It’s always disappointing to get dropped and lose your place in that England side, so of course it hurts,” said Denly after playing his first red-ball innings at Canterbury since June 2019.

“But from here on it’s about trying not to put too much pressure on myself. As a top-order batsman you want to score runs every time, but the trick is to not try and think about that too much, rather take each ball at a time.

“If I simply try to spend as much time as I can batting out in the middle then the big scores will take care of themselves and just come along naturally.”

^{Denly was dropped by England after the first Test against West Indies}

He added: “I wasn’t too down about being dropped, I’ve no grudges toward the selectors whatsoever. It was just disappointing not to kick on. It’s going to be tough to get back in as we’ve got some good young players in and around the squad, but I’d love to be involved again and I’ll do whatever is asked of me.

“Whether it’s being involved as an England squad player and a back-up batsman, then I’ll take that, so it’s vitally important I make sure I perform well now I’m back here with Kent. 

Denly, who also brings his excellent out-fielding and burgeoning leg-spin bowling to the mix, remains a naturally aggressive batsman and denies that he was asked to curtail his shot-making by England’s hierarchy.

“I don’t think I was forced into a playing a different way to the way I’m used to,” he said. “I think I had opportunities to go on and make big scores which is my job as a top-order batter.

“Both Chris Silverwood [head coach] and Joe Root [captain] were very clear about scoring big, first-innings runs and they weren’t worried about how you did it. A few times I got a little bit bogged down I guess and, even though I felt comfortable at the crease, I just wasn’t able to capitalise on some good starts or get through those tricky periods to go on and get the big hundreds that would have cemented my place at No3.

“If anything, I went away from my usual balance of attacking and defending and keeping busy at the crease, which is something I’ve always tried to be. When it’s tricky to score runs quickly, it’s just as important to put pressure back on the bowlers by rotating the strike and showing good intent.

“But I never felt forced to play a different way, it’s just frustrating and disappointing to me from a personal point of view that I didn’t score those big ones.”

In explaining his preference for batting at No.3 for club and country as opposed to opening, Denly said: “I quite enjoy No.3 and like having that five minutes to clear my mind between innings. When we’ve bowled a team out, I really like to have time to come off the park and chill, to mentally get myself ready, rather than rush off the field and get my pads on straight away.”

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