England has dropped batsman Joe Denly for the second Test against the West Indies, returning captain Joe Root confirmed on Wednesday.
Root missed England’s four-wicket loss in last week’s first Test following the birth of his second child. But the star batsman has slotted back into the side for the second Test at Old Trafford starting on Thursday.
Low scores
The 34-year-old Denly was always likely to make way after two low scores in last week’s loss at Southampton left him with a modest average of 29.53 from 15 Tests.
Denly’s place was put under further threat by an innings of 76 from Kent teammate Zak Crawley at the Ageas Bowl.
“It’s never an easy decision, never easy having to leave someone out,” Root said on Wednesday.
“With Joe (Denly) over a period of time he’s done a brilliant job for us, he’s helped show our identity as a side and how we played moving forward. It’s a very difficult decision but we’ve gone a different way.”
Getting stronger
The Yorkshireman added: “You watch Zak’s progression since he’s been involved in the team, his game has continued to get stronger.”
Last week’s victory left West Indies 1-0 up in the three-match series, taking place behind closed doors.
The teams (from):
England: Joe Root (Capt.), Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Dominic Bess, Jofra Archer, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes.
West Indies: Jason Holder (Capt.), John Campbell, Kraigg Brathwaite, Shamarh Brooks, Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Shane Dowrich (wk), Rahkeem Cornwall, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, and Shannon Gabriel.
Umpires: Richard Illingworth and Michael Gough.
TV umpire: Richard Kettleborough; Reserve umpire: Alex Wharf. Match referee: Chris Broad.
Match starts at 3.30 p.m IST.
