Denly hopes to boost his Ashes chances

Joe Denly is out to prove he is more than a short-term fix for England ahead of what could be his last chance at an Ashes audition.

The 32-year-old made his Test debut in place of Keaton Jennings last week, but could not prevent a fearful thrashing by the West Indies.

Joe Root’s side were routed in three days to lose the Wisden Tro- phy with a game to spare, while Denly’s modest scores of six and 17 might easily have been worse.

He could have made a pair of ducks in Antigua, with a highly fortuitous lbw decision in the first innings and a dropped catch in the second sparing him the ignominy.

England will be looking to salvage some pride in the third and final Test, starting in St Lucia on Saturday, but for Denly the stakes are even higher. Fail and his flirtation with the five-day format could be over before the first ball of the domestic season; succeed and he could find himself lining up against Australia later this summer.

If the line seems a fine one, then at least Denly is aware of it going in.

“Playing in an Ashes series is an absolute dream and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about it a little bit,” he said.

“Obviously with the opportunity I have in the next Test it is there, but it is important to try and not think about it as much as possible. I need to have a real focus on trying to get a score in this next Test and prove to those guys who think I am a stopgap, makeshift opener that I have got a future as an opener in Test cricket.

“I hope they (England) see a future in me opening the batting in Test cricket. It’s a great opportunity for me to try and make that position mine.”

Denly first made the international stage nearly a decadeago,playingahandful of one-day and T20 matches before slipping off the radar. He eventually re-emerged as a useful all-rounder in the shortest format and gained wider exposure after being picked up by Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash.