Former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that batsman Joe Denly needs to fine-tune his technique if he wants to sustain a chance to score big in the longest format of the game. The English batsman was dismissed by Shannon Gabriel in the first innings of the ongoing Test against West Indies, as the bowler castled his stumps.
Denly faced 58 deliveries during the innings. In 14 Tests so far, Denly has failed to breach the three-figure mark, having scored six fifties.
Hussain urged Denly to look up to his captain in the ongoing match, Ben Stokes.
"Perhaps he can look at the example of his captain in this game. Ben Stokes has clearly tinkered with his technique, despite having the year of his life in 2019," Hussain wrote in his column for the Daily Mail.
"He has opened up his stance and has got a big trigger movement across his stumps towards the off side. I'm not sure why he has done it, but it shows even when you are in form you can always improve your alignment."
He also cited an example of Virat Kohli, who had a tremendous individual outing during the tour to England in 2018. He was the highest run-getter in the series, improving comprehensively on the previous tour to the country in which he failed to score a single half-century.
"Another example is Virat Kohli. When he came to England in 2014, he kept nicking Jimmy Anderson. Two summers ago, he stood further outside his crease and intercepted the ball before it had a chance to swing as much. The result was that superb century at Edgbaston.
"Denly has to believe that a tweak can be made, even while he accepts the risks that come with it," Hussain added.
Earlier, during a conversation on Star Sports' show Cricket Connected, Hussain had called Kohli the 'tinker-man'.
(With inputs from IANS)
