Keaton Jennings, the England youngster scored a fabulous hundred against India on Thursday at the Wankhede on his test debut. He was the highest scorer for England on day 1 as he announced himself on the big stage smashing 112 runs hitting 13 boundaries. The left handed batsman thus became the 19th English batsman to score a hundred on debut.
Keaton was called up for the fourth Test against India in a series which England are losing 2-0 and had arrived in Mumbai on Monday from his England Lions squad in the United Arab Emirates. Karun Nair dropped Jennings duck but Keaton made most of the opportunity and went on to make it big at the end. The last Englishman to score a ton on debut was former cricketer Jonathan Trott. Current England skipper Alastair Cook and former wicketkeeper Matt Prior also got into the list when they made their debut in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
Indian legend Sourav Ganguly who also smashed a ton on debut was all praise for Keaton Jennings for his wonderful knock against a tough opposition like India. Ganguly was also seen praising Haseeb Hameed who scored a fighting fifty with an injured finger in the last test at Mohali.
Ganguly was quoted, “Terrific isn’t it. For a young kid coming to Mumbai and getting his first Test hundred, it’s a remarkable achievement. England has produced a few players on their first trips to India. Alastair Cook slammed his debut hundred in Nagpur, Joe Root when he came in 2012 and now Jennings, Hameed. So India has been a good hunting ground for a lot of these young kids travelling from overseas, especially from England”
“He (Jennings) batted superbly I thought. It wasn’t an easy pitch the ball spun and bounced. I think England have got two very good young players in Hameed and Jennings.”
England has a history of foreign players getting into the England side and making it big. Keaton Jennings was born in Johannesburg while his father used to keep for South Africa during the apartheid era.
“There was a tweet on BCCI’s official page which had a picture of Hameed and his family saying ‘look who’s supporting England’. There have been a few instances of overseas players doing well for England. Jennings is one, Kevin Pietersen is one, Robin Smith, Allan Lamb… you name it” Ganguly told the reporters.
“Yes there have also been a few English-born players who have done well, Jonathan Trott is one who scored a hundred on debut as well. England is such a country where people from all over the world come, settle down and then go on to play for England.”
“I saw a tweet from Harsha (Bhogle) which said – they needed another South African to see them through in India, and he’s (Jennings) done it for England so far”