England have a decision to make on Joe Denly: Michael Vaughan ahead of Manchester Test

Former England cricketer Michael Vaughan reckons that Joe Denly hasn’t quite lived up to his potential in his 15-match career in Test cricket thus far. Vaughan stated that Denly should be dropped for the second Test against the West Indies, starting July 16 at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The hosts have already fallen 0-1 behind after the four-wicket defeat in Southampton.

Joe Root, the regular England captain, would also be returning for the upcoming game after attending the birth of his child. Vaughan feels that Denly hasn’t converted his starts after grinding through the tough phases. In the first Test at the Rose Bowl, Denly managed scores of 18 and 29.

Shannon Gabriel, the Player of the Match, and Roston Chase dismissed him in the first and second innings respectively. In the meantime, Vaughan said that the axe shouldn’t come down on Zak Crawley, who failed in the first innings, but churned out 76 runs in the second.

Joe Denly is just not good enough, says Vaughan

“England have a decision to make on Denly. Crawley surely has to stay in the side. Joe Denly played the way he has played in all of his 15 Tests. It’s been the same story. He did the hard yards then made a mistake,” Vaughan was quoted as saying to BBC Sport.

“It’s not even a conversation. You could argue that Denly was very lucky to have played 15 Test matches. There are a lot of players who have played only eight Tests and got hundreds. He has missed his chance and they have to stick with Crawley. I’m sorry for Denly – he’s just not good enough,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Crawley was also asked about who should make way for Root for the upcoming contest. Replying to the question, he said, “That’s not my place to say. My job is to score runs, and that is what I will try to continue to do as long as I get a chance.”

The Three Lions are in for a tough task going ahead into the series. After the loss, they will now have to win the second and third Test to clinch the series. In the first game, Ben Stokes, who stood in for Root, was also criticised for leaving out Stuart Broad.