India v England: Keaton Jennings reflects on 'surreal' debut hundred
Jennings hits 112 on dream debut as England closed on 288-5
Friday 9 December 2016 06:08, UK
Keaton Jennings spoke of his "surreal" Test debut as he hit a hundred for England on day one of the fourth Test against India in Mumbai.
Jennings, drafted in from the England Lions tour of the UAE just days earlier after an injury to Haseeb Hameed, became the 19th Englishman to score a century on debut and the first England opener to achieve the feat since Alastair Cook in Nagpur in 2006.
Jennings shared a 99-run opening stand with Cook, and admitted his skipper helped hugely in settling his early nerves.
"It has been an incredible six to eight months, and an even more special 72 hours," said Jennings. "Flying in from Dubai, meeting the guys, then getting a hundred today - it has all been a bit surreal.
"There was a little bit of panic this morning, thinking I'd missed the bus - I jumped out of bed and then realised it was only 5am.
"Besides that, it has been an incredible experience. After getting my first run, things settled down a bit.
"Cooky was brilliant with me - he really calmed me down as well, and our partnership developed quite nicely.
"You never really know how you're going to cope. You train hard, hit balls in the nets, face really good bowlers, but you don't know how you'll react under that Test pressure.
"Thankfully, for me, I have come in and done well straight away, but I've got to sustain that over a long period of time."
Jennings brought up his hundred, off 186 balls, in flamboyant fashion, reverse-sweeping Jayant Yadav to the third man boundary, though admitted he wasn't exactly sure what score he was on.
"At the time I was thinking, do I want to get out defending? Or do I want to get out playing a reverse-sweep?
"As I hit it, I thought I've got it - but the stadium went a bit quiet so I thought maybe I'd got it wrong, but then I looked up and saw the score.
"The pride and elation that comes over you at that time is awesome; a really special moment, especially to do it in India given the passion they have for the game."
Former England opener Michael Atherton was suitably impressed by Jennings' efforts on debut and is excited by the options the team now have at the top of the order.
"I thought he played superbly," added Atherton. "What you look for in a new players is that they are not afraid and he did not look overawed at all.
"There was no surprise he played the seamers nicely with his South African and Durham grounding, but with a combination of aggression and a solid defence, he played the spinners well too.
"He's a great find and I think when they play Test cricket in July next summer, England will look to play Cook, Hameed and Jennings all in the top three, and slot Root down to No 4."
Live Test Cricket
Watch day two of the fourth Test between India and England, in Mumbai, from 3.45am on Friday, Sky Sports 2.
