Why I was wrong about Joe Denly

I'm about to start my first ever post on my new blog by linking to another blog. Regular followers of my work will surely be aware of WillAtkinsSports, where I have now been writing for about 6 months. In my most recent post (http://willatkinssports.webs.com/apps/blog/show/2903646-england-s-twenty20-vision) "England's Twenty20 Vision" , I was supportive of young Kent opening bat Joe Denly. Choosing to ignore his previous scores of 0, 0 and 14 in international Twenty20, I was one of the only people in world cricket (other than his mate Rob Key) to actually want him in the team. But I am man enough to realise my mistakes. And only four days after writing my blog, I have changed my mind. I want him out.

To be honest, I was slightly biased about my support for Denly. While I am not a Kent supporter, I have seen them play an awful lot, including the 2008 Twenty20 Cup final. While Kent lost, and Denly didn't make an especially big score, I was impressed by his partnership with the fore mentioned Key. Since then, I have supported his international rise, and argued his case despite the run of consistently low scores. However, while Denly is a perfectly capable county batsman, in his rise to a much higher level he has shown a lack of skill at the moment. While he appears to have lost his place in the fifty-over side, his two single figure scores in the Twenty20 circus series against Pakistan will probably put paid to his hopes of playing in the World Twenty20, with Craig Kieswetter's form coming at the perfect time - three days after his naturalisation.

However - note that I am not knocking Joe Denly. While I would not pick him as opener in the Caribbean (and for that matter - would not pick Jonathan Trott either), I still rate him as a future test player, and once he is able to develop his skills, both cricket-wise and mentally, I would have him in and around the international scene. Denly, however, will need to take advantage when given his next chance - in case he becomes the next Ravi Bopara...