Former skipper Michael Vaughan has no doubt that England should look past Joe Denly and retain young Zak Crawley when regular captain Joe Root returns for the second Test of the ongoing series against the West Indies. 

Root had to leave England's bio-secure bubble, created for this series at two different venues in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the birth of his second child and will be back for the last two Tests having gone through a seven-day self-isolation period. 

Ben Stokes has led England in absence of Root at the Ageas Bowl. 

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Vaughan sounded very critical of the 34-year-old right-hand batsman Denly, who has now played 15 Tests for England with an average of only 29.54 in the middle-order. Denly made only 18 & 29 in his two innings of the ongoing first Test in Southampton and has now gone eight knocks without a fifty. 

On the other hand, Crawley, 22, playing his fifth Test, overcame his failure in the first innings and made a quality half-century in the second to strengthen his claim of a regular spot. 

Talking to BBC Sport, Vaughan reckoned there is no way Crawley should be missing out at the Old Trafford and Denly be retained. 

"It’s not even a conversation," he said. "You could argue that Denly was very lucky to have played 15 Test matches. There are a lot of players who have played only eight tests and got hundreds."

"He has missed his chance and they have to stick with Crawley. I’m sorry for Denly - he’s just not good enough. England have a decision to make on Denly. Crawley surely has to stay in the side," Vaughan added. 

Crawley, whose innings of 76 helped build England's third-innings lead, however, chose not to be drawn into speculations over team selection. 

"That’s not my place to say," he was quoted as saying by Reuters. 

"My job is to score runs, and that is what I will try to continue to do as long as I get a chance. It is for the powers that be to decide," he added.