Denly must change or axe will fall
IF YOU were watching Joe Denly bat for the first time yesterday, and saw him being bowled by Shannon Gabriel, you might have thought: ‘Fair enough, that’s a good ball.’
But the problem for Denly is that he has history with the one that nips back. And if international bowlers these days sense a weakness, there really is no place to hide.
In the time before video analysis, a batsman might have had two or three Tests before the opposition worked out where to bowl to him. Now, the West Indies will sit down the day before the game, watch the footage and come to an obvious conclusion: ‘Right, Denly. Let’s get it to nip back from outside off.’
His problem is clearly a technical one. He is planting his front foot on middle and off stump, but he is not moving it again. And because his feet are getting stuck, he is having to play at the ball with his hands. If the ball is coming back in from the off side, that leaves a gap between bat and pad. And that is what any international bowler worth his salt will be trying to exploit.
At county level, a glitch like that does not matter so much, because the bowlers might only be able to produce a threatening delivery once an over. Rob Key, who used to captain Denly at Kent, says it has always been a vulnerability. But in Test cricket, that goes up to three or four times an over.
It is hard to say why Denly has got into this habit, but it is possibly a function of modern practice routines, which can be a bit robotic against all those throwdowns and bowling machines. You can almost drill yourself into the wrong position, rather than learning to see the ball and reacting to it.
Whatever the reason, Denly will have to go away and work out how to deal with the problem. And he will have to do it quickly. He is 34, so time is not on his side, and Joe Root will return for next week’s second Test.
And while I still believe Denly is ahead of Zak Crawley in the pecking order, things could get uncomfortable for him if he fails in the second innings, and Crawley gets a score.
It is not an easy summer to correct technical issues, because at the moment a batsman cannot go back to county cricket and work on his game. But Denly has to find a way, even if it means moving further across his stumps to the off side.
Of course, when you solve one problem, another can emerge. By moving across, he may lessen the danger of being bowled, but could bring lbw into play. Still, it would give him a second line of defence.
Perhaps he can look at the example of his captain in this game. Ben Stokes has clearly tinkered with his technique, despite having the year of his life in 2019. He has opened up his stance and has got a big trigger movement across his stumps towards the off side. I’m not sure why he has done it, but it shows even when you are in form you can always improve your alignment.
Another example is Virat Kohli. When he came to England in 2014, he kept nicking Jimmy Anderson. Two summers ago, he stood further outside his crease and intercepted the ball before it had a chance to swing as much. The result was that superb century at Edgbaston.
Denly has to believe that a tweak can be made, even while he accepts the risks that come with it.
After training the brain for years about where his off stump is, a change of guard may confuse him about which balls to play at and which to leave. But the reality is that if he does not adapt quickly, the best bowlers are going to keep finding him out. And, as I mentioned the other day, it is not just about Root coming back into the side. Dan Lawrence is itching for a crack, too. Test cricket can be a ruthless business. Denly has to adapt — and he has to adapt now.