Joe Denly wants to put a winter of international frustration behind him and rack up his first 1,000-run season.

The batsman, pictured, said spending three weeks on the sidelines watching the action on the England tour of Bangladesh has been tough but he is determined to play himself back into contention by leading Kent’s charge this season.

Denly, 24, said the tours of South Africa and Bangladesh had been a learning experience for him and had made him hungry for more.

He said: "South Africa was one of the most challenging experiences of my career so far with different pitches and environments. In the end, I was a bit disappointed not to have made the mark I would have liked to.

"I learned from that and it made me a bit more hungry as well because sitting out in Bangladesh for three weeks and watching the cricket was hard to take.

"I was probably a bit rash in a few of the games. I didn’t give myself the opportunity to get in, playing shots from ball one. You can maybe get away with that playing for Kent but not with the bowlers in international cricket.

"All I can do is start well for Kent and score runs consistently.

"The last couple of years kind of faded away for me, I haven’t really scored the runs I should have. This year is going to be a big year, there are no excuses. I have never passed the 1,000-run mark so that is one of my first targets."

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