Jennings is no lost cause, yet
WHEN I look at Keaton Jennings, I see a batsman who is capable of scoring Test runs. But he has a problem, and it’s one you can’t afford at this level — he keeps making the same mistake.
He is following the ball outside off stump when he should be keeping the bat inside the line. In one respect he reminds me of Marcus Trescothick. He is an upright left-hander who likes to hold the pose after a shot.
But Trescothick used to drag his bat out of harm’s way. Jennings looks prone to the ‘curtain rail’, where the bat follows the ball and he nicks off.
His dismissals have been of a repetitive nature. He is vulnerable to the ball around the top of off stump, and as an opener in Test cricket you are going to get a lot of that. The reality is he needs a score in the second innings if he’s going to play against West Indies.
Despite all that, I think Jennings (right) has a chance to succeed if he goes away and works at his game. You could see at The Oval that he was thinking about things, because he took guard out of his crease against Vernon Philander and tried to get a bit lower.
It’s difficult to change your technique while you’re still learning the ropes in Test cricket, let alone in the middle of a series. But with Philander injured in this game, Jennings will know that this was his opportunity. If he doesn’t get any runs in the second innings, I think England have to make a change. Mark Stoneman looks a good player, but the selectors will also be keeping an eye on Haseeb Hameed, who has been netting at Old Trafford. What Jennings will have to learn is that, once you’ve got yourself in, you have to go big. After scoring that hundred on debut in Mumbai, he’s had a few scores — 54 at Chennai, 33 at Lord’s, 48 at Trent Bridge — where he’s failed to convert a start. But those scores are a reminder that, though he’s struggling at the moment, he’s not had a nightmare start to his Test career. Before this game, his 10 innings had brought him an average of almost 26. In their first 10 Test innings, Alec Stewart and Michael Vaughan both averaged 27, and their careers didn’t work out too badly. Jennings is not as bad as some have said — but he has work to do if he is to prolong his Test career.