West Indies vs England: Uncapped Joe Denly replaces Keaton Jennings for second Test

The Kent all-rounder will become England’s 690th male Test cricketer

Joe Denly will become England’s 690th male Test cricketer in the second Test at Antigua.

It is the latest attempt by England to solve their long-standing woes at the top of the order, a problem that has plagued them since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012. Since then Nick Compton, Joe Root, Michael Carberry, Sam Robson, Jonathan Trott, Adam Lyth, Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Haseeb Hameed, Jennings the first time, Mark Stoneman, Jennings the second time, and Rory Burns have all been tried, lasting an average of six Tests each.

Root revealed ahead of practice on Wednesday that the Kent all-rounder would replace Keaton Jennings at the top of the order, becoming England’s oldest specialist batsman to make his Test debut for almost a quarter of a century.

Denly is 32 and after playing a handful of white-ball games for England a decade ago, “went missing for a few years”, as he put it. He slipped into the backwaters of county cricket, moving to Middlesex and then back to his home county in 2015. But the last two seasons have seen a remarkable career resurgence in all forms of the game, with both bat and ball. He has scored nine first-class centuries in the last two seasons, 14 in all competitions.

The one caveat is that he has spent much of that time batting at No3 and No4, and stepping up to open against Kemar Roach and Shannon Gabriel will be the biggest test of his career so far. But Denly has a weight of experience many of his predecessors in the role have not. The last batsman to debut for England aged 32 or over was Alan Wells at The Oval in 1995, although Denly will at least hope to improve on Wells’ first knock, gloving a catch to short leg first ball.

Now he will get at least the rest of the series to stake his claim, but the reality is that with just three more Tests to go until the start of the Ashes, a substantial score will virtually seal his place for this summer.

“It’s a great opportunity for Joe to show what he’s capable of,” Root said. “To be a No3 you have to be able to cope with the new ball, to understand what it’s like to bat right at the top of the order. He’s got that in abundance. Hopefully he can continue the fine form he showed last summer for Kent.”

Jennings may well feel a touch hard done by, having scored an unbeaten 146 just four Tests ago in Sri Lanka. But he has looked extremely sketchy ever since, scoring just 17 and 14 in the first Test in Barbados. He has struggled to transfer his weight forward into the ball, looking leaden-footed at the crease and leaving him susceptible to the edge into the cordon. And with Australia’s seamers beginning to lick their lips in anticipation of bowling at him in English conditions, England have taken bold and pre-emptive action.

Root stressed Jennings remained part of their plans. “It’s disappointing for Keaton, he’s done some very good things,” he said.

Keaton Jennings has been dropped after scoring 31 runs in the first Test (Getty)

“He’s going to continue to keep developing, and he’s very much a part of this side going forward. It’s not final at all. It’s been a tricky start for him over here, but he’s got a very good attitude, and I’m sure he’ll go away and work on his game.”

There is one other change to England’s 12-man squad. Jack Leach replaces Adil Rashid, who will leave the tour after this Test to attend the birth of his second child back in England. Rashid was probably in line to be dropped in any case, after a poor Test in Barbados and the increasing belief among the England management that he can only really function in the freedom of a six-man attack.

Leach will battle it out with Stuart Broad and Sam Curran for the final place in the team, with the playing XI to be decided on Thursday morning depending on conditions. The pitch looks green and lively, which could well swing things in Broad’s favour. If England play only a single spinner as they attempt to level the series at 1-1, it will be Moeen Ali rather than Leach.