Joe Denly insists England must stick to positive batting approach despite criticism in West Indies

Joe Denly has insisted that England must continue to be positive in their batting amid criticisms of the side’s approach in slipping to a series defeat in the Caribbean, but admitted that he is still hopeful of sealing his own place in the Ashes squad.

England slipped to crushing defeats in the first and second Tests as West Indies secured the series with a match still to go, beginning in St Lucia on Saturday.

In both defeats the tourists collapsed in a heap due to a mix of over-aggression, poor shot selection and hostile West Indian bowling with only 16.06 runs scored per wicket on the tour – England’s worst in a Test series for 131 years.

Despite this, and the widespread criticism which their batting failures have brought upon them, Denly has backed the England team’s methods and claimed the reward for them is just around the corner.

“We have to be as positive as we an approaching each innings and forgetting what happened in this last Test and hopefully we get a better surface to produce bigger scores.

“That big score as a unit is not far away at all and that is the way we have to look at it.

“That (the criticisms of England’s batting style) rarely gets spoken about in the batting group, seeing it as a problem.

“I think at training, coming in and being a part of this Test squad for the first time, watching the guys train and how they go about their business, if you were just watching them at a net session you would think this is a proper batting line-up. There are some exceptional players.

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“The way the guys work and dedicate time to their game, I’ve got no doubt that this batting group will turn things around.”

On a personal level, Denly came in for particular criticism at both of his dismissals on Test debut – nicking a very wide delivery and shouldering arms to a straight delivery – but despite these mistakes the 32-year-old, was able to enjoy the experience of a red ball debut.

Now he’s hoping to establish himself in the team for the visit of Australia and The Ashes later this year.

“It was pretty amazing,” Denly said of his first Test.

“It’s been a while since I last played international cricket, excluding the T20 in Sri Lanka of course, and a long road. I probably thought white ball cricket would have been higher up on the agenda but to get that chance is Test cricket is pretty special.

“It was actually pretty relaxed, once Rooty told me there was a flurry of emotions, telling the family and that, but the whole build-up I felt very relaxed.

“That comes from having a taste of it before, it not going to plan, going back to first-class cricket and through rough patches, before coming out the other end. Sometimes you build things up to be something they are not.

“For me personally it has to be about this next game,” he said.

“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.

“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 and 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 or makeshift opener that I have got a future as an opener in Test cricket.

“Hopefully I can do that,” he added.