Keaton Jennings moving on from criticism of decision to play for England
Saturday 31 December 2016 13:49, UK
Keaton Jennings is not surprised at the backlash towards him playing for England and insists he is no cricket mercenary.
The Durham opener was born and raised in South Africa, where he captained their Under-19 team, but he became eligible for England in 2016 after fulfilling residency requirements.
Jennings was called up by England midway through the Test tour of India and made an immediate impact, replacing the injured Haseeb Hameed as Alastair Cook's opening partner and scoring a century in his first innings.
The 24-year-old came out of the brief stay with a huge amount of credit and told The Times there is absolutely no doubt where his allegiances lie.
He said: "South Africa isn't my home any more actually. My mum and dad said the other day about me 'going back to the UK' and I corrected them. 'No. I am going home, that's my home', I said.
"The north-east of England is where I have bought property and where my local pub is. When I come back to South Africa now, I drive round using GPS because I don't know my way.
"I would have been naive if I didn't expect (his South African background) to be commented on, but I didn't expect the huge quantity of the backlash. I can't pretend it didn't bother me a bit.
"Social media is great but people voice their opinions in the wrong way sometimes. There was backlash to my background but mostly I've had a lot of support."
Jennings is also unperturbed at the thought of possibly facing South Africa this summer with the Proteas coming to England for three one-day internationals, three T20 contests and then a four-Test series in July and August.
Lancashire teenager Hameed will be back to battle Jennings for a place at the top of the batting order but the prospect of facing more talk about his heritage will not affect his focus.
He added: "I don't think it will feel weird playing against South Africa, but I know that the intensity around that will be heightened.
"There will be all the chat again about my nationality. And if I do play I will have to make sure I handle that and be calm, settled and focused.
"I'd be happy to bat at No 10 and be a fielder. If the opportunity is there in July to bat at No 3 and that is what (England coach) Trevor Bayliss or Cook want me to do then I will bite their hand off."
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