Joe Denly was toasted on The Cricket Debate after his fourth half-century in as many Tests helped England to 241-4 after day one against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui.
Listen to the Cricket Debate below or download here as Nasser Hussain – stepping in for the resting Bob Willis – and Angus Fraser hail Denly, ponder whether Ben Stokes can become England’s Jacques Kallis and look at a disappointing day for Joe Root, who made just two.
Speaking on 33-year-old Denly, Hussain said: “When he was first picked, I thought, ‘isn’t that a backward step? Hasn’t he had his time? Aren’t there younger players we can start introducing?’
“Then I saw him bat in the Caribbean and he had real rhythm to his batting. He doesn’t look frenetic, he looks composed.
“He did well against Australia in the summer against a good attack, albeit that there was one area where he looked vulnerable against the short ball and then he’d have a big booming drive.
New Zealand vs England
November 21, 2019, 9:30pm
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“It’s rare I’ve seen him and thought, ‘he doesn’t seem like an international cricketer’ so that is a real tick for the selectors.
“He has looked a Test cricketer.”
Also on the agenda…
– How England played good old-fashioned Test cricket but how that was only possible through selection
– First impressions of debutant Dom Sibley, whom Nasser says looked composed
– How the likes of Denly and Rory Burns need to convert fifties into hundreds
– How Root is not looking ‘natural’ at the crease at the moment
– Why England are producing batsmen who prefer the leg-side
– Why New Zealand medium pacer Colin de Grandhomme is so effective and what Sam Curran can learn from him
Watch day two of the first Test between New Zealand and England live on Sky Sports Cricket from 9.30pm on Thursday.
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