England could pick Rory Burns and Joe Denly for winter Sri Lanka tour as life after Alastair Cook begins

Rory Burns and Joe Denly are both poised to win places on England’s winter tour to Sri Lanka after Alastair Cook announced that he would be retiring from international cricket after the Oval Test against India.

Burns has a first-class average of 43.92, with 14 centuries in 103 matches. He has blossomed since being appointed captain of Surrey - who are top of the County Championship - this season, averaging 64.07 in Division One. Burns has scored three centuries - his conversion rate of half-centuries to hundreds has previously been a problem - and, having just turned 28, appears to be in the prime of his career.

While Burns is a certainty to tour Sri Lanka, and expected to become England’s next opener, Denly would be a more surprising pick. He played for England’s limited overs sides briefly in 2009-10 and, at 32, his international career was widely thought to be in the past. 

But England believe that Denly has improved and, through succeeding in Twenty20 leagues around the world - including the Big Bash and Pakistan Super League - has shown he has the temperament to succeed under pressure. 

Denly averages 45.88 for Kent this first-class season, and averaged 57.54 in 2017. Although these runs were mainly made in Division Two of the County Championship, England believe that the figure understates his true worth because Canterbury, his home ground, has been a tough place to bat. Denly has scored nine first-class centuries since the start of 2017, including a century against Pakistan in a tour match this year.

On weighted average - a metric England use to contextualise runs based on the circumstances in which they were made - Denly has been one of the leading England batsmen in county cricket in recent years.

Denly is viewed as a highly attractive candidate for the winter tour to Sri Lanka because of his flexibility. Though he has been an opener for most his career, he has mostly batted at three for Kent recently, and occasionally at four, meaning that he could provide cover for all the batting spots. He is regarded as a good player against spin.

Crucially, Denly has also developed his legspin, which England believe could be useful in Test matches. He has taken 15 first-class wickets at 23.60 this season, the best haul of his career, and has also become a highly effective bowler in limited overs cricket. England believe that Denly could be a useful support to their frontline spinners in Sri Lanka.