England opener Keaton Jennings faces a nervous wait to know if he is part of their plans for next month’s tour of Sri Lanka but his ability on spinning wickets could work in his favour, coach Trevor Bayliss has said.
Jennings averaged just over 18 in their recent 4-1 series victory over India and has not scored a test century since his debut knock in Mumbai in 2016.
“I’m sure he will be a bit nervous about which way it will go. He scored runs in India on spinning wickets and I’m sure that will be in his favour,” Bayliss told the British media. “But he is a big boy, he knows runs on the board count as well. All of those points will have to be discussed and I can’t say at this stage or another whether he will go or not.”
England, who will be without Alastair Cook after the 33-year-old retired as their most prolific scorer in tests, are expected to name their squad next week.
England will play five one-dayers and a Twenty20 International in Sri Lanka before the three-test series gets underway on November 6 at Galle.
Collingwood retires
from Cricket
Former England captain Paul Collingwood will retire from professional cricket at the end of the current season, his County Championship side Durham announced yesterday.
Collingwood, 42, became the first England captain to win a trophy at a global tournament when he guided them to the ICC World T20 in 2010. He was part of three Ashes series wins over Australia before retiring from international cricket in 2011.
“I knew this day would eventually come but it hasn’t made it any easier - although it’s an emotional decision, I know that the time is right and I’m comfortable knowing that I have given every last ounce of energy to the sport,” Collingwood told the club’s website https://www.durhamccc.co.uk/news-and-media/collingwood-announces-retirement.
“I have achieved so much with both Durham and England, far more than I ever imagined and I feel extremely privileged
to have had such a long and rewarding career
“I am excited about what the future holds for me and am looking forward to new challenges.”
Collingwood scored close to 17,000 runs in first-class cricket since making his debut 22 years ago.
He made 4,259 runs in 68 tests and will play his final game against Middlesex starting on September 24.
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