Posted by Joe Denly is an unbelievable Test cricketer. You’ll note that we’re saying ‘is’ and not ‘was’ there. That’s because of the specific way in which Joe Denly is/was unbelievable.
Sometimes you only need to do so much to get the gig. And sometimes you only need to do so much to keep it. Joe Denly was brought to us to play a whole inconclusive Test career. And to somehow carry on playing it, never quite departing the stage.
Ever since his debut in January 2019, we have marvelled at Denly’s adequacy. Sometimes he was a little bit disappointing. Sometimes he was faintly impressive in some very specific way.
Fielding-wise, he was incredible, delivering just about the worst drop you could ever imagine and also just about the best celebratory throw you could ever imagine, immediately after taking that ridiculous starfish catch in the Ashes.
But as a batsman – which is how he’s judged – Denly generally did juuuuust enough to avoid being dropped.
There is an artistry to this. Denly has painted both by numbers and also more expressively.
The numbers
In 28 Test innings, Denly has made only three single figure scores and zero hundreds.
At the same time, he has been England’s Baron of Balls – in 15 of those innings, he has faced over 100 deliveries.
Consider those things at the same time and that is a remarkable and also inconsequential record.
It’s almost as if he’s tended to fall victim to the sheer mental toll of batting.
In his first Test series, against the West Indies, he averaged 28.00. After pacing himself incorrectly in the one-match Test series against Ireland (when he made 23 and 10), he then averaged 31.20 against Australia.
Feeling a trifle under pressure, he then averaged a towering 37.20 against New Zealand, before settling back to a comfortable 30.00 for the series against South Africa.
After making 18 and 29 in the first Test against the West Indies this summer, he is actually due – albeit ‘due’ for Joe Denly means ‘due to make 73 runs across two innings, almost certainly without passing 50’.
If he did that, it would mean averaging 30 in 30 Test innings with no hundreds, which whether it happens or not is how we’ll always remember him.
The moments
All of which masks something. Within those narrow confines, Denly has done some fairly brilliant things, some relatively awful things and a few other things that are neither one nor the other but which are still worth mentioning.
For example, in New Zealand, at Mount Maunganui, Joe Denly made 74, batting at three. That is, on the face of it ‘good’. But then this was a match where BJ Watling would go on to make a double hundred.
So was Denly’s a bad innings? Not really. He set things up for England’s middle-order really well. It’s just that England’s middle-order didn’t happen to do all that much.
Denly has also top scored in an Ashes Test with 12. That is definitely not good. But, at the very same time, it is also the least bad innings on a terrible, terrible day.
As an even purer example, in the 2019 Boxing Day Test, Denly top scored in England’s first innings with 50. Again, this wasn’t enough runs, but it was a sort-of-okay number and it was more than anyone else managed. The key for this one, however, is that he had also been dropped on nought. What you’re supposed to think of an innings like that is anyone’s guess.
Let’s pick out the highlights now, because, unlike most highlights, they do actually need highlighting.
The highlights
Remember Ben Stokes’ Headingley hundred? Of course you do. Remember the first part of it? The part he played towards the end of day three? Maybe you don’t remember that part so much.
Stokes was at the crease for 12 overs at the end of day three. During this period, he made two runs. Joe Root had been at the crease for 66 overs at that point and he was on 75.
It was slow going that day. Necessarily slow. Crucially slow. Without the slow, there couldn’t have been the fast – the bit that we all remember.
When Joe Denly arrived at the crease, England were 15-2 chasing 359 to win. He could have thought ‘fuck it’ and played some shots. He didn’t. He made a nice round 50 off 155 balls. He helped an amazing thing happen.
But here’s a more obvious one. The fifth Ashes Test. Denly, by now opening the innings – because somebody had to – made 94.
It was the highest score in the match. England won.
We don’t know about you, but as an England fan we feel we owe a debt of gratitude to any player who does that.
There are players whose career stats you look at and think ‘how the hell did they play X number of tests with those stats?’ You tend to see them less often in England shirts since the 90s but they’re always around. Denly is one of those, and, unless you were watching when he made those scores you’ll never appreciate how refreshing someone seeming to care about his wicket has been
Good article, KC.
You forgot to mention that Denly’s 12 in the 1st Innings of the 3rd Ashes Test could have won the match.
Maybe (its highly unlikely) Stokes wouldn’t have managed another 2 sixes.
Unsurprisingly, everyone is saying pick Crawley over Denly for the 2nd Test.
However, there is factors to consider.
Denly played with Rob Key, Crawley did not.
And for me that is enough to not drop Denly.
I suspect Ed Smith takes a similar position, except swapping Ed Smith for Rob Key
I remember when Stephen Fleming was finishing off his Test career there was some statistical excitement as to whether he could get enough runs in his final match to end up with a Test average north of 40. I was willing him on but don’t know whether that contributed in any way to the outcome. He managed it, just, at 40.06. Coincidentally that’s also, to 2 decimal places, Alec Stewart’s batting average after 127 Tests. After 129 Tests it was 40.19. After 133 Tests it was 39.54. Unfortunately Alec Stewart played exactly 133 Tests. I’d been willing him on too, but it was 2003 so basically the Nineties still, and it was South Africa’s bowling attack for that final five Test series. So perhaps the dip under forty was inevitable but I found it sad at the time.
After fourteen Tests, Denly had a batting average of 30.00 – neither the highest nor lowest it had ever been, but it was Very Denly. Bearing in mind the slightly odd set of reasons behind his inclusion it’s a shame he had a little bowl in that Test, as his bowling average had been spot on 100.00 at the end of the match before, and finishing with averages of exactly 30 and 100 would have been an excellent reflection of a brief but – in its own way – valuable career. As it is, it looks like he’ll finish with 15 Tests and averages of 29.53 and 109.50 and I’m not sure whether I find that a bit sad or somehow poetically fitting. Joe Denly, exceedingly average, but not quite.
Historians sometimes talk about the “Long Eighteenth Century”, extending it from the Glorious Revolution in 1688 to Waterloo in1815 as more significant turning points in British history than the merely numerological definition.
I like the idea that there is also a “Long 1990s” being extended to 2003 to encompass Alec Stewart’s career.
I’m going to be properly hacked off if Broad and Anderson aren’t allowed to play together again.
What does your ‘hacking off’ involve?
Is this the end of J-Man and StuBro? Is this it? The old team on the scrap heap?
Archer’s unauthorised trip to his flat might have brought about a situation where they play together again…?
At least Sam Curran should get the nod.
Who’s up for a bit of right-arm fast-medium!?
I miss Denly
Sibley Ball Hundred Alert
Drinks with Sibley stranded on 199 balls… tense….
Job done. I see Cricinfo commentary has taken to calling a ball hundred a ‘Dentury’
Sibley will be stuck on 499 balls at Tea tomorrow…
and then Root will declare.
Only to discover that it wasn’t actually Tea and it was a false call and then undeclare.
Someone that had batted with Rob Key would DEFINITELY not get out 1st ball.
Absolutely true.
Did Dom Sibley ever play with Rob Key?
Or maybe after Sibley’s weight loss he is the same weight as Rob Key.
Or maybe Dom Sibley and Rob Key are the same person
Spooky thought…
…or should I say Spoo-Key?
No, you definitely shouldn’t.
Do you think Shannon Gabriel has a defect in his eyesight. He seems to think that 2nd slip is the keeper.