London: England opener Keaton Jennings has been called up in the 12-member national squad as a replacement for Mark Stoneman for the second Test of the two-match series against Pakistan, beginning Friday at the Headingley Stadium.
The 25-year-old, who has been included in the Test squad for the first time since featuring in the series win over South Africa in August last year, has accumulated 314 runs and scored two centuries in the Specsavers County Championship Division One.
Reflecting on Jennings’ inclusion, national selector Ed Smith said that the Lancashire opener has got a call-up in the wake of his impressive form in county cricket.
“Keaton Jennings showed a strong temperament in scoring a hundred on his Test match debut against India in December 2016. Keaton has found good form in county cricket this season, including three centuries in his last seven innings (two in the First Division of the County Championship, one in the Royal London One-Day Cup),” Jennings said.
Meanwhile, Stoneman has been dropped on the back of disappointing start to the 2018 season and his poor performance in the opening match against Pakistan at the Lord’s, where he was dismissed cheaply for nine runs.
“Mark Stoneman misses out at Emerald Headingley. Mark has experienced a disappointing start to the 2018 season and had a difficult Test match at Lord’s,” the national selector said.
Stoneman’s exclusion was the only change, made to the England squad that slumped to a nine-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the first Test to go down 0-1 in the series at the Lord’s.
The England Test squad is as follows:
Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Dominic Bess, Mark Wood, Stuart Broad, James Anderson , Chris Woakes. (ANI)