OLD PALS’ ACT

Denly thanks ex-teammate Smith for second chance

Joe Denly returned to england’s one-day squad after a nineyear absence yesterday and immediately gave thanks for friends in high places.

Denly, at 32, has been given the chance to add to the nine oneday and five Twenty20 appearances he made for england under Andy Flower’s regime because of a strong hunch by national selector ed Smith.

And Denly, in Sri lanka to replace the injured liam Dawson before taking his place in the Test squad, is a much better all-round player than when he averaged 29 and had a strike-rate of 65 in 50-over internationals.

‘I suppose it’s not what you know but who you know,’ smiled Denly, a former team-mate of Smith from his formative years with Kent. ‘I haven’t been in touch a great deal with ed since he finished playing but there is a bit of history there.

‘now he is chief selector that has probably helped me. I remember him giving his time to help me when I was a young player, so it’s nice he thinks highly of me now.’

Smith was keen to give Denly this unexpected chance as much for the leg-spin bowling that has become an important part of his game as the top- order batting that now sees him competing for a Test opener’s slot.

‘I became a lot more confident as a bowler with Kent last season and it’s something I really enjoy,’ said Denly, who is in contention for his 10th appearance for england in tomorrow’s fourth one-day international in Kandy.

Meanwhile, the formal process of identifying the successor to Andrew Strauss as director of cricket will begin today when the eCB advertise the post. Strauss, stepping down to support his wife Ruth during cancer treatment, will assist eCB chief executive Tom Harrison in the search.

Interviews will be conducted next month, with the intention of the new director being in place at the start of 2019. The job description will state that international playing experience is desirable rather than essential.

Andy Flower holds the post in an interim capacity but is keen to return to his tracksuit work with england lions, leaving Ashley Giles as a frontrunner along with other county directors Alec Stewart (Surrey) and Martyn Moxon (yorkshire). There are those within the eCB who will encourage Flower’s partner Clare Connor, head of england women’s cricket, to apply.

As Sportsmail has suggested, Sussex chief executive Rob Andrew is a viable candidate given his rugby union experience.