Door should close on

RIGHT up until his humiliating dismissal on the third day of this final Test at the Oval, it was thought the imminent retirement of Alastair Cook would grant Keaton Jennings a stay of execution in the England team through to the winter.

After all, the departure of Cook – his country’s all-time leading runscorer – will leave a gaping chasm at the top of the order, and England have had enough trouble finding one competent opener since the retirement of Andrew Strauss six years ago, let alone two.

Jennings is, so the thinking goes, a good player of spin and should do well in Sri Lanka later this year. Stick with him and England have one fewer problem to worry about in the post-Cook world.

Speaking to the BBC’s Test Match Special at lunch yesterday, national selector Ed Smith indicated Jennings was as good as in the squad for November’s three-Test series in Sri Lanka.

“Having spoken to people in the team, it’s obvious Keaton has got a very clear method and it has just been a difficult summer to open the batting,” said Smith. Yet so bad was Jennings’ second-innings dismissal at the Oval, when he was bowled on 10 shouldering arms to Mohammed Shami, surely he cannot be persevered with any longer.

If the 26-year-old’s awkward, robotic style at the crease raises no red flags, then his statistics certainly do. After 12 Tests Jennings averages 22.09, and in this series that number drops to 18.11.

The batsman has also gone 18 consecutive innings at home without scoring a half-century – a record barren run for an England