Keaton Jennings feels very English ‘despite not sounding like it’ ahead of England debut against India

Open for business: Keaton Jennings is set to be England captain Alastair Cook’s 11th partner at the top of the order in four years
Stu Forster/Getty Images
Chris Stocks6 December 2016

He went to the same school as former South Africa captain Graeme Smith and his accent is definitely more Highveld than High Wycombe but Keaton Jennings says he will be proud to represent England ahead of an expected Test debut for his adopted country this week.

The 24-year-old Durham opener is set to become England captain Alastair Cook’s 11th partner at the top of the order in four years when the Fourth Test against India starts in Mumbai on Thursday. It is a match the tourists must win if they are stay in this series after defeats in Visakhapatnam and Mohali left them 2-0 down with two Tests to play.

Jennings is a replacement in the squad for Haseeb Hameed, the 19-year-old opener who has flown home for an operation on the fractured little finger in his left hand that cut short a highly-impressive debut series.

There is then a lot for Jennings to live up to. However, the Johannesburg-born batsman is looking to enjoy the moment in India having taken a circuitous route to reach the top.

The son of former South Africa coach Ray Jennings, Keaton joined Durham in 2011, the same year he captained South Africa’s Under-19 team for the last time, and says the welcome he received in the North-East helped sway his decision to play for England.

Jennings’ mother was born in Sunderland and he still has a grandmother who lives in the area. Yet it is the runs he scored in the County Championship for Durham last summer — 1,548 at an average of 64.50 — that have earned him his big chance with England.

“Growing up, I went to the same school as Graeme Smith — King Edward VII [in Johannesburg],” he said. “I finished and came over to England straight away in April 2011 and then from there tried to play my way into English cricket.

“The guys up north made me feel really welcome and helped me settle down and pave the way for life in the UK. At the moment I’m feeling very comfortable and very English, despite my accent.

“I bought a nice little two-bed flat in Chester-le-Street a couple of years ago. I’ve got a local pub as well. That made me feel part of the furniture essentially. I’m blessed that they’ve welcomed me with open arms.”

Jennings’ father Ray was one of South Africa’s finest wicketkeepers but never played international cricket because almost his entire career spanned the country’s period of isolation due to apartheid. Famed as a disciplinarian, Jennings senior went on to coach South Africa and Bangalore Royal Challengers in the Indian Premier League.

Much of his focus, though, has been on guiding his son’s career.

“We’ve got a very good relationship, me and my dad,” said Jennings. “I can’t remember the last time I called him dad. When I was nine or 10 we went to the nets. We were training. It was one of the days when I decided not to listen. He threw me the first ball, I got out. Second ball, I got out. He said, ‘You get out one more time we’re going home’. He threw me another ball, I got out. He put his bag down and walked off.

“From that day forward he was Coach. I’m probably closer to him than I am to anybody else in the world. I’m blessed to have a person I trust with my life.”

Jennings is studying on a part-time basis for a degree in accountancy — something his father advised. He also persuaded Jennings to throw his lot in with England for good after he captained South Africa’s Under-19s on their 2011 tour of the UK. “At the time I sat down with my Dad and I felt it would be my best opportunity to live my dream in the UK and I’m glad as I sit here now to have made that hard decision,” he said.

Jennings flew in to Mumbai yesterday from Dubai, where he had captained the Lions in two 50-over games against the UAE. Now, though, he is looking to help England recover from 2-0 down in the series against India. “Hopefully we can land a few haymakers and throw some punches back,” he said.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in