Keaton Jennings has not given up on England aspirations: "Score runs: that's the bottom line"

JAMES COYNE: Jennings is out in the cold from England selection, though he has completed a business degree and is starting to rack up the numbers in the Championship again too

Keaton Jennings has not played for England since the global pandemic was declared, but the only person he blames for that is himself.

The Lancashire opening batsman was in the initial England squad for the two Tests in Sri Lanka supposed to take place in March 2020, only for the touring party to hastily pack their bags for home after just two practice games as the UK edged towards lockdown.

When England flew back out in January 2021 to play six Tests against Sri Lanka and India, Jennings was notable by his absence, given his track record of two Test centuries in Asian conditions.

Though England showed more willingness in Ed Smith’s time as national selector to consider players for specific conditions in Test cricket, even that wasn’t enough to save Jennings last winter.

When asked if he was surprised to be left out for those Tests in Asia, Jennings said: “No. At the end of the day you have to have weight of runs for your selection to take place in the first place. Obviously last season I hadn’t.

“When you’re in that position as a batter, your selection then becomes subjective. And you can be subjective yourself about your own performances, or you can point a finger at yourself and try to get better. That’s what I’m trying to do all the time – regardless of whether it’s cricket or anything else in my life.

“Score runs: that’s the bottom line. When you look at the English top-order, it’s a tough job. That’s why so many guys have cycled through. That first two hours of any game in England can be really hard work, but it’s score runs and perform – that’s the currency we deal in.

^{Keaton Jennings has been in form for Lancashire}

“So when someone asks you ‘how close do you think you are to being selected?’ the only answer you can give is to score runs. You need to score runs a weight of runs that will not get you left out, and when you get your chance you make sure you score runs there too.”

Jennings paid the price for managing just one fifty in eight innings of last summer’s hastily-arranged Bob Willis Trophy, though he did better in the Vitality Blast. He has been far more consistent so far for Lancashire in this extended run of LV= Insurance County Championship games, making three consecutive half-centuries in Lancashire's early-season run to the top of Group 3 in the new conference system.

In contrast to his success square of the wicket against the turning ball, Jennings has often been criticised for his leaden-footed technique against the fast, swinging Dukes ball.

Though he seems to have coped well enough so far against county attacks in 2021, he is keenly aware that he needs to churn out some match-defining hundreds to put his name back in the conversation.

KEATON JENNINGS IN THE 2021 LV= COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

vs Sussex (h) - 4

vs Northants (h) - 13 & 27

vs Kent (a) - 16

vs Sussex (a) - 60 & 91*

vs Glamorgan (h) - 64

Jennings says: “I’ve felt good for a period of time, it’s just about transferring that into performances that lead to match-winning situations and contributions. I’m really pleased.

“I wouldn’t mind getting a few more big scores to really put us in some good positions. But it’s about making contributions that get you through tough periods.”

Even if he does bank some hundreds, many have long since concluded that his previous travails in home Tests in 2017 and 2018 mean he should never be picked at home again.

Whether he is ever selected again – home or away – the man he has to impress above all is England head coach Chris Silverwood, who now has ultimate say over selection. Mo Bobat, the ECB performance director whose influence in selection must have gone up even more following the recent abolition of the post of national selector, was at a squally Northampton to watch Jennings and Alex Davies put on their fourth opening stand in excess of 50 for Lancashire this season.

It’s easy to see why their contrasting styles – the tall, left-handed Jennings more circumspect and preferring to come forward and drive; the diminutive right-handed Davies a punchy cutter and puller – can prove frustrating to opposition attacks if they get in.

“I think we complement each other quite nicely,” says Jennings. “I’m 6ft 4in and Davo’s about 3ft 5in [in reality more than two feet taller than that] and obviously score in different areas and play differently.

“I think on a morning where we are able to rotate and get off strike it can be quite frustrating for a bowling side. I think it’s been really enjoyable. Especially in England the way you want to structure your game is to get through that new-ball period and force bowling changes. Touch wood, it’s gone nicely.”

Jennings is in his fourth season at Old Trafford since moving from Durham, and is enjoying being part of a winning unit – and one that for the last few weeks has contained Jimmy Anderson as he goes in search of his 1,000th first-class wicket (he was on 992 at the start of the current match at Northampton). After this round of Championship games Anderson will re-enter the England bubble ahead of the two Tests against New Zealand.

“Jimmy Anderson coming back, the value he’s added, just as a bloke has been absolutely fantastic. Standing behind [the wicket] watching a magician at work is brilliant. Guys pick his brain and with him being the guy he is he feeds information back to the lads and adds value back into the system, which is great.

“I’m not sure what the guys had planned if he took his 1,000th wicket while with us, but he’ll be back with England soon which is great.”

Jennings is certainly not the idle type: last summer he completed a Business Management degree at the Open University, including – fittingly during the Covid era – a 3,500-word essay on the activities of a pharmaceutical company. He is now studying for an MBA at the University of Manchester’s Alliance Business School.

Even though he has plenty to keep him occupied, Jennings is well aware how difficult lockdown has been for so many people. In normal times he himself would travel home in winters to his native South Africa to spend time seeing his family.

“It’s hard work. I love my family and am really respectful and love spending time with them. So it’s tough to be out of contact. In a way it changes the relationship you have – because you have to talk and communicate properly, and it’s brilliant we have the technology to do that now. I’ve had the opportunity to do that and change my life in other ways over the last 18 months. There’s been some positives, there’s been some negatives, there’s been some tears – it’s been hard work.

“I think lockdown has had a lot of effect on people, and I’m not sure everyone realises the mental strain people have lived under, so it will be interesting to see how society moves forward as a whole.”

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