England are hoping to strike the right Ballance
GARY Ballance has won an England recall for the first Investec Test against South Africa, with the uncapped Toby RolandJones and spinner Liam Dawson also included.
Thursday’s match at Lord’s will be Joe Root’s first since succeeding Alastair Cook as captain in February and his Yorkshire team-mate Ballance, the second highest scorer in the Specsavers County Championship with 815 runs, will slot in at number three behind Durham’s Keaton Jennings.
That caps a remarkable shift in fortunes for the left-hander, who looked set for a lengthy international exile after making just 24 runs in four torturous innings in Bangladesh in October.
Ballance was named White Rose captain in pre-season and his prolific form since taking the role has persuaded the selectors to overlook Surrey opener Mark Stoneman and Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan, who had also been considered.
Root is also a big friend and champion of Ballance and, having been huge. To do it against the country of your birth, with the media hype and all that kind of stuff behind it, is really special,” said Jennings.
“There’s going to be a bit of stick, if it’s in English or Afrikaans, then so be it. It’s always good fun, and doesn’t change the fact you’ve got to score runs. If they’re abusing you, you’re obviously doing something right.”
Jennings was expected to take the number three slot now occupied by Ballance before Hameed’s struggles, but now he has the chance to build a master-and-apprentice partnership with England’s record run-scorer.
“Hopefully I continue to get the opportunity to open the batting with Cooky for years to come, his mental toughness is incredible,” he said.
“Opening the batting’s hard work and at times it can be quite degrading, you’ve got to find ways to try and stay positive. That’s what makes Cooky’s accomplishment as the only opener in the history of the game to get 10,000 runs that much more special. It takes a serious man to accomplish that.”
In the bowling ranks, Stuart Broad has been passed fit after a troublesome foot problem and Mark Wood makes a welcome return for the first time since October 2015, having overcome a catalogue of injury problems.
Announcing the squad, national selector, James Whitaker, said: “There is great excitement around the first Test of the summer and with the start of a new era under the captaincy of Joe Root this is an exciting time for English cricket.”
Root and his vice-captain, Ben Stokes, have vowed their England side will be entertainers, seeking to engage with the public as well as defeat their opponents.
A return of live free-to-air cricket from 2020 has helped create a sense of optimism about the sport’s place in the national conversation and Jennings is keen to be part of that.
“Cricket’s slowly becoming more successful,” he said. “You’ve got guys like Stokesy bowling thunderbolts and hitting it miles outside the ground, it’s going to be exciting, and kids want to be those guys.”