Joe Root will be returning to the England side after being away to be present for the birth of his child. (Twitter/EnglandCricket)
Joe Root, speaking at the pre-match press conference before the start of the 2nd Test vs West Indies, said that Joe Denly will sit out of the match and that Zak Crawley will be batting at number 3 for England.
“It’s never an easy decision, having to leave someone out. Denly has done a brilliant job over a period of time,” Root said.
“There’s a few things that need clearing up from this end,” he said when asked if any change can be expected to England’s bowling line-up from the 1st Test.
Denly, who had scores of 18 and 29 in the 1st Test, faced the axe for throwing away a good start once again in Southampton. Over his Test career, he has had a highest score of 94 and a batting average of 29.53. He has not passed 38 in his past eight innings, even though he has faced a lot of balls in his innings.
Zak Crawley, 22, who top-scored for England in last week’s Test with a second-innings 76, will be batting one position above him, Root said.
🚨BREAKING NEWS🚨
🏴 Joe Root has confirmed that he’ll be replacing Joe Denly in the England line-up for the second Test against the Windies.
🏏That means Zak Crawley looks set to keep his place.
🤔 Thoughts? The right call? pic.twitter.com/NrI05ZIsp1
— England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) July 15, 2020
Root’s pre-match press conference had to be postponed by 90 minutes because of extended deliberations between the selectors, reported ESPNCricinfo.
Root will be returning to the England side after being on leave to be present for the birth of his child during the 1st Test. England are down 1-0 in the series after losing last week’s Test by 4 wickets.
West Indies have not won an away Test series against teams other than Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in the past 25 years.
Visiting skipper Jason Holder said on Wednesday, “There’s no pressure on us. We don’t get caught up in the off-field noise. The series is still wide open. There are 10 days of cricket left. England are a very good team, they have some world-class players. We’ve got our work cut out to win another game.”
Holder confirmed there are no injury worries for his side, with opener John Campbell having recovered from an injured toe.