Keaton Jennings hits confidence-boosting century as England Test debut awaits
England newcomer Keaton Jennings has marked his Test call-up by notching an unbeaten century for the Lions as they beat the United Arab Emirates in Dubai.
Durham opener Jennings has been added to England’s squad for the remainder of their tour of India after Lancashire’s Haseeb Hameed was sidelined with a badly fractured little finger on his left hand.
Jennings, who was county cricket’s leading run-scorer last season and averaged 64.5, gave notice of his intent by making 101 not out as England Lions chased down their victory target of 175 with 16 overs of their innings to spare.
“That couldn’t have gone much better,” said the 24-year-old. “To spend some time in the middle was great, even if they were one-day runs, which is obviously different to how things will be in India.”
England vice-captain Joe Root, meanwhile, has urged Jennings, who is in line to become skipper Alastair Cook’s 11th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012, to savour the moment should he be handed a Test debut.
“Just enjoy it. Try not to get caught up in things that could happen, and just enjoy being in that moment and putting on the cap and the shirt,” said Root.
England trail India 2-0 with two Tests of the five-match series to play. The next instalment gets underway in Mumbai on 8 December.