Skipper Root returns to No 3 spot for Ashes opener
BIRMINGHAM:JOE Denly confirmed on Tuesday that he would drop to number four in the batting order for England’s opening Ashes Test against Australia, with captain Joe Root replacing him at No 3.
Root has previously made clear he prefers batting at four but the Yorkshireman is understood to have approached coach Trevor Bayliss after last week’s Test win over Ireland about returning to his old position when the Ashes opener starts at Edgbaston on Thursday.
Bayliss has long wanted Root, England’s best batsman, to bat at No 3 following a succession of toporder collapses that have seen the skipper walking out to bat at 4 when two cheap wickets have fallen. Root averages 48 at No 4 in but a shade over 40 when batting at No 3. But with England openers Jason Roy and Rory Burns having played just eight Tests between them, the logic in having 81-Test veteran Root bat at number three is clear. Denly, speaking at Edgbaston on Tuesday, said: “Joe Root will bat at three and I’ll be batting at four. He rang me the other day and told me he wanted to bat three and for me to go in at four. I think Rooty just wanted to get involved in the game, get up there and get out in the middle.”
“I’m very excited. I wasn’t too fussed where I’d be batting, it’s just great to be in the 11. I’ve batted at four before for Kent and throughout my career, so it really wasn’t a big issue,” he added. “I’m just happy to be playing.”
Denly may be 33 but the Kent batsman has played just three Tests and this will be his first Ashes series. He had a brief stint as a limited-overs international a decade ago but it seemed Test cricket had passed him by.
However, a return to form and the arrival of his former Kent teammate Ed Smith as national selector saw him given a Test debut against the West Indies in Antigua earlier this year. “Everyone from a young age dreams of playing in an Ashes and to finally get that chance, being quite an old campaigner, I’m certainly excited and up for the challenge,” said Denly. “There’s no doubt that the Australian bowling is one of the best. As a top-order batter, that is where you want to be, testing yourself against the best,” Denly said.