Jennings survives as England stick to the tried and tested for dead rubber
Out of sorts opener Keaton Jennings will be afforded at least one more Test in an England shirt it seems after he was named their 13-man squad for the fifth Test against India.
Speculation was rife after the fourth Test that Jennings who scored 0 and 36 in Southampton to go with a series return of 42, 8, 11, 20 and 13.
In 20 Test innings Jennings has scored 453 runs at an average of 22.65 notching just one fifty to go with his single hundred scored on debut in India.
England named retiring former skipper Alastair Cook in the squad, unsurprisingly, even though many had called for him to give way to whomever his replacement would be.
The ECB revealed that batsman Ollie Pope will play the first two days of Surrey’s County Championship Division One match against Essex at Chelmsford and will join the rest of the Test squad on Thursday morning. James Vince has been left out of the squad.
Despite talk of managing the workload of senior seamers Stuart Broad and James Anderson both have played each of the four Tests so far and seem in line to make the fifth Test XI as well.
England have the option of bringing Woakes in for one of the frontline seamers to lengthen the batting but they may be reluctant to give him the new ball responsibility.
Allrounders Sam Curran and Moeen Ali have grounds to be nervous having been left out in this series previously. Curran was dropped after winning the man-of-the-match award, so we should see both going hard in training for the hosts.
England Test squad: Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, James Anderson, Stuart Broad.
Latest
-
NewsJos Buttler ruled out for rest of England’s series with Sri Lanka
The Lancashire wicketkeeper-batsman suffered a calf injury in the Twenty20 opener and will not be fit for the three one-day internationals.
-
NewsLauren Winfield-Hill happy England ‘threw early punches’ in battle with India
The tourists held on to draw last week’s Test match in Bristol but Winfield-Hill hopes England ‘opened a few wounds’ ahead of the one-day series.
-
NewsOn this day in 2017: Malan first Englishman to hit a half-century on T20 debut
The batsman’s 78 from 44 balls helped the hosts secure a 2-1 series victory over South Africa.
-
NewsLiam Livingstone proud of ability to adapt after leading England to series win
Livingstone’s unbeaten 29 guided England to a five-wicket win.
-
NewsLiam Livingstone leads England to victory after top-order wobble
Livingstone’s unbeaten 29 was pivotal in a low-scoring game.
-
NewsGlenn Phillips stars as Gloucestershire go top of South Group with Glamorgan win
Phillips’ fifth-highest score of his career included nine fours and six sixes.
-
NewsMark Wood and Adil Rashid restrict Sri Lanka to poor total in Cardiff
Sri Lanka could only post 111 for seven.
-
NewsJos Buttler: Opening batting made easier by Jason Roy’s intimidating presence
Buttler notched his ninth fifty in 20 innings opening the batting in T20s for England.
-
NewsJos Buttler believes he is blossoming alongside opening partner Jason Roy
Buttler took the plaudits with an unbeaten 68 from 55 balls as England overhauled their target with 17 balls to spare.
-
NewsHarry Brook and Jordan Thompson’s record stand helps Yorkshire to Blast victory
The pair put on a sixth-wicket partnership of 141.