Joe Denly keen to forge own England ODI style in middle order

Joe Denly says he will not look to simply emulate Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler if he is selected for the first one-day international against South Africa in Cape Town on Tuesday.

The Kent batsman scored 85 from 63 balls in England's final warm-up against a South Africa Invitational XI in Paarl and is likely to feature in the middle order for the opening game of the three-match series at Newlands.

Denly looks set to benefit from the decision to rest Stokes and Buttler for the ODI series.

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But he insisted he will forge his own style rather than try to copy the duo who have played such a key role in the resurgence of England as a white-ball side, culminating in the victory over New Zealand to win the ODI World Cup last year.

"It's great to be involved in such a very strong squad. Obviously there's a few players not here but a great opportunity, if you get a chance, to go and make it count and put your hand up," Denly said.

"I'm used to opening the batting in county cricket and obviously batting in the middle is a new experience.

"By no means am I going to go out and try to bat like Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler, they're incredible players. It's just a case of working out a method that works for me and trying to be really clear on what that is."

While Denly's immediate focus is on the limited-overs formats, having also been included in England's squad for the three Twenty20s that follow the ODI series, his place in the Test line-up is not guaranteed.

He struggled in the 3-1 Test series win over South Africa, contributing 210 runs at 30, which is identical to his career average after 14 Tests.

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Denly has yet to score a century in international cricket and he acknowledges that some runs in the shorter format of the game could help him retain his Test place for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka next month.

"I suppose if I score runs here and find some good form then, of course, I think that might help. But I don't know, that's out of my hands," he added.

"I think mentally I'm pretty good with where I am in Test cricket. I certainly feel comfortable at Test level, for me it's just about a matter of time.

"Hopefully if I get more opportunity then those big scores will come."

Watch the first ODI between South Africa and England, in Cape Town, live from 10.30am on Tuesday on Sky Sports Cricket.