Selection was in the Ballance for Gary
GARY BALLANCE has won an England recall for the first Investec Test against South Africa, with the uncapped Toby Roland-Jones 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 No.3 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.
Root is also a big friend and champion of Ballance and, having been present at New Road for Friday’s selection meeting, could well have tipped the scales in his favour.
Jennings, who scored a century on debut in the Mumbai Test, will open with Cook against the country of his birth.
“Any time you pull on the badge to represent your country, it’s 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.”
ALEX HALES hit the highest score ever recorded in a county final at Lord’s yesterday as Nottinghamshire beat Surrey by four wickets to win the Royal London One-Day Cup.
Neither Hales nor Surrey’s Mark Stoneman were included in England’s Test squad announced yesterday, but each sent a timely message to Joe Root and the selectors as Hales smashed a match-winning 187 not out after Stoneman had posted 144, also unbeaten.
Hales’ eclipsing his previous career-best of 171 for England last year, inspired Nottinghamshire to reach the 298 target set by Surrey.