Keaton Jennings vows against complacency before South Africa Tests

Keaton Jennings has vowed not to become complacent as he bids to retain his England place this summer but is keen to carry on enjoying his cricket.

The 24-year-old could not be sure of his Durham place 12 months ago but put himself in contention for England selection after an incredible county season.

He made an immediate impact midway through the India tour following an injury to Haseeb Hameed, registering a memorable ton in his debut international innings in Mumbai, before a gutsy half-century in Chennai.

Jennings ended the tour in pole position to either partner Alastair Cook or slot in at three for the first Test of the summer against South Africa, the country where he was born, in July, but knows a lot can happen between now and then.

"You can't take too much for granted in life," he said. "At the end of the day that's three or four months away, there's a lot of cricket to be played before that point and a lot can happen in the season and in those months.

"I'll try to put the performances on the board that will get you recognised. The only thing I can do is try and score runs. Hopefully I can just get through my routine and really enjoy my cricket like I did last year."

Jennings was dropped by Durham towards the end of the 2015 campaign, but marked his return the following season in sensational style with 1,548 Specsavers County Championship runs at an average of 64.5 with seven centuries, including a double hundred against Yorkshire.

However, despite Durham's relegation to Division Two and the departure of established batting duo Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman, Jennings says he is not feeling any extra pressure.

"Not really. You want to try and consistently put performances on the board that will win games of cricket," he said. "I'll try to build on last year but at the end of the day I'm just trying to get through the same sort of process and the same kind of routine that I went through last year."

Either side of his India trip, Jennings captained England Lions and is currently in Dubai, where he is leading the North in the inaugural North v South series. The added responsibility has led to suggestions that he is being groomed long-term for a leadership role in the future.

However, Jennings is just focused on establishing himself in the England set-up first, looking to new Test captain Joe Root as an example of what can be achieved.

"To captain your country is the biggest honour. If the opportunity ever came up then that would be absolutely awesome. But you need to try to establish yourself as a player first," he added. "You look at a guy like Joe Root, he's averaging over 50, and he's really established himself as a cricketer.

"Rooty was brilliant for me when I was out in India and the couple of chats we had in the short period of time I spent with him, just chatting about cricket and chatting about different things, was brilliant. I'm absolutely buzzing for him and hopefully he can enjoy his stay as captain."