Jennings’ place not assured, says Bayliss
Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has given Keaton Jennings no assurances about his place on the tour to Sri Lanka as the team contemplates life after Alastair Cook.
Jennings is clinging on to his place after a poor summer – he averaged 18.11 against India – and if he goes to Sri Lanka it will largely be because England do not want to pick two debutants to open the batting. They do have other options with James Vince and Moeen Ali potential emergency openers. Surrey’s Rory Burns will be called up for the first time after making an irresistible case for selection with another 1,000 runs in county cricket this season, including a century in the current match against Worcestershire.
Bayliss flies home to Australia today and the selection meeting will be held over Skype next week. Recent history suggests the coach will defer to Ed Smith, the national selector, over any marginal calls.
“I’m sure he [Jennings] will be a bit nervous about which way it will go,” Bayliss said. “His history – he scored runs in India on spinning wickets – I’m sure will be in his favour. He is a big boy, he knows runs on the board count as well. All of those points will have to be discussed and I can’t say at this stage whether he will go or not.”
Jennings had a poor Test at the Oval. A soft dismissal in the first innings, caught at leg slip of a leftarm spinner when he was set, was followed by being bowled not playing a shot in the second.
It blew a great opportunity because England would prefer not to make another change at the top of the batting order and any kind of score, or sign of progress, would have been enough. But Jennings’s failure has made it harder for the selectors, potentially gifting a chance to someone like Joe Denly.
Denly, 32, is only a year younger than Cook, and bats in the middle order for Kent rather than at the top. He has been consistent in county cricket for the past couple of years, scoring runs on a tough pitch in Canterbury and a call would be a remarkable late chance for a player who thought his England days were over.
“I have not seen him in the last couple of years,” Bayliss said. “He has made some runs this year, apparently he is a decent player of spin. He can play the short ball, but so can a few others, Vince for example. He has done what we have asked of him since he was out of the team and obviously Burns is making a lot of runs.
“I am sure all three guys will get a hearing and there might be more than one spot in the touring party.”
Bayliss hinted succession planning for James Anderson will begin properly, probably in the second half of the winter, with a number of young fast bowlers in contention.
Stuart Broad may be rested for Sri Lanka with England feeling the pitches do not suit tall, hit-the-seam bowlers, and space has to be made for another finger spinner for the West Indies tour after Christmas, which should be played on harder pitches than in recent times. It is a chance to look at Olly Stone, of Warwickshire, and Somerset’s Jamie Overton, two of the quickest bowlers in the country.
Anderson has admitted retirement could happen at any time. He does not want to start being rested for tours, perhaps worrying he may seize up for good if he stays inactive for too long, but has been around long enough to know his body may suddenly force the issue.
“I read something Glenn Mcgrath said that he went into the 2006 Ashes with no intention of retiring and by the end of it he thought his time was up. That could happen to me. Who knows?” Anderson said. “I don’t like looking too far ahead. I don’t think it helps me or the team, when we look too far ahead, whether it’s in a session or a day or a game. If you look too far ahead you take your eye off the here and now and that’s what I like to focus on.”
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