Matt Walker believes Joe Denly was denied a 'fair crack of the whip' after the Kent vice-captain was left out of England's final 15-man World Cup squad.

Denly lost his provisional spot to Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson having had limited opportunities in which to stake his claim with the bat.

The 33-year-old bowled six wicketless overs and scored just 17 on his only batting outing in England's 4-0 series win over Pakistan after managing just eight and 1-24 from five overs against Ireland earlier in the month.

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"I certainly think he deserved an opportunity," admitted Walker. "That (England) line-up is a hell of a line-up, though. They're favourites to win the World Cup and that says it all really.

"Joe is a top order batter, that's where he's played all his white ball cricket and that's where he's played best, he didn't get the opportunity to showcase what he could do.

"It would have been nice to have seen him do what he can do at the top of the order, Joe's not really a No.7, he'll do you a decent job like he has a couple of times for England already, but I think in many ways he deserves an opportunity to be in that squad for what he's done.

"The role is a weird one in some ways, he's probably not a spinner that is going to necessarily bowl 10 overs in an international and he's certainly somebody that is a bit wasted at No.7.

"I think they saw him as a utility player that could bowl spin if they wanted to go with another spinner, maybe fill in for a few spots if there is an injury or two or bat lower down if required.

"He didn't get a fair crack of the whip in my opinion."

Denly returned to captain Kent in their County Championship clash with Essex, bowling six wicketless overs before scoring 20 as his side finished day two trailing by 131 runs at Chelmsford.

Walker added: "Looking at it from our perspective, it's great to have him back.

"Had he possibly been in that World Cup squad and not played much cricket he'd probably have been a bit short of confidence and middle time going into an Ashes series, where you face the prospect of (Mitchell) Starc, (Pat) Cummins and (Josh) Hazlewood having not had much cricket behind him.

"It's a good opportunity now to have a good five, six or seven games with us, score a lot of runs and really cement his place for the forthcoming Ashes in great confidence and form.

"He's reflected on it quickly, there was some obvious disappointment but Joe isn't the sort of person that is going to dwell on it. He's not going to be down in the dumps and feel sorry for himself, he'll crack on and use it as a positive.

"He'll be a real influence around the place, Joe will look forward to the next stage in the season and his career. He's got plenty to play for."

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