"He's come through that very difficult summer and the decision makers all felt that he deserved to keep his place in the squad"
Friday 21 September 2018 18:03, UK
National selector Ed Smith has defended his decision to include opener Keaton Jennings in England's Test squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.
Jennings was recalled to the side for the second Test against Pakistan at the start of June and kept his place for the series against India.
However, the left-hander averaged just 19.2 in 10 innings with a top score of 42 and his selection for the first of two England tours this winter was far from guaranteed.
Smith, though, was firm in his defence of the 26-year-old Lancashire batsman.
"Going into The Oval Test match, which was the last Test match of the summer, taking the three teams together - England, Pakistan, India - and taking all those opening batsmen together, that includes Alastair Cook, Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan - some very good cricketers with some very good track records - they were collectively averaging 20," he told Sky Sports News.
"Keaton Jennings was averaging 19. He was pretty much bang on with what everyone else was doing. That tells me that how hard opening the batting has been this summer in England."
Smith also pointed to the way Jennings has dealt with the pressures both on and off the pitch as another reason he deserved to be retained.
"Keaton Jennings showed fortitude and resolve and mental strength, without making the big score," he added.
"He's come through that very difficult summer and the decision makers all felt that he deserved to keep his place in the squad for Sri Lanka."
