Keaton Jennings has spoken of his shock at being called up as one of two replacements to the England squad for the tour of India, describing the news of his sudden promotion to the senior setup as a “whirlwind”.
The Durham left-hander has replaced Haseeb Hameed for the final two fixtures of the series due to the broken finger that the 19-year-old opener suffered during the defeat in Mohali and will fly to Mumbai next week after captaining the Lions in two of their three 50-over matches against the United Arab Emirates, starting in Dubai on Thursday.
Jennings, who will be joined in India by Hampshire’s Liam Dawson following the back injury that has ruled Zafar Ansari out of the tour, was told the news on Tuesday evening by Andy Flower, the former England head coach who now heads up the Lions. Should he make his debut in the fourth Test that starts on 8 December he would become Alastair Cook’s 11th opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss in 2012.
“It was a lot to take in,” said Jennings, whose father is the former South Africa coach Ray Jennings. “Telling my family and the guys at Durham has been pretty emotional. My mum was in tears and my dad was speechless, and they’re two things that don’t happen very often.
“I need to have a coffee and get my head around everything that’s happened. To be appointed captain of the Lions was a big honour for me. To be honest, I wouldn’t know what day it is at the moment, everything has been such a whirlwind.”
Jennings’s mother is English but he was born in Johannesburg and qualified for the national team in March this year before a breakthrough campaign in which he scored 1,548 runs and made seven centuries as Durham finished fourth, only to be relegated for financial reasons. That demotion has left him considering his future at the club, with the new contract he signed before the end of the season understood to include a release clause.
Dawson made international debuts in the limited-overs formats during the summer and will join the squad after a spell playing for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Premier League. He was named in the Lions squad but then given permission to further his Twenty20 experience.
The 26-year-old’s selection owes much to his all-round ability, given the 20 first-class wickets he claimed last season were dwarfed by the 65 taken by his fellow left-armer, Somerset’s Jack Leach, who was the leading English spinner in the county game and thrived on turning pitches at Taunton.
England, who have given the players permission to travel to Dubai for a mid-tour break, also confirmed on Wednesday that Chris Woakes sustained a small fracture to his right thumb when batting during the defeat in Mohali but is considered fit for continued selection.
