The timing may have been purely coincidental but as Keaton Jennings trudged back to the dressing room stairs at Old Trafford on Friday with 17 to his name, and Haseeb Hameed began a net session with the England coaches, it was hard not to ponder whether the pair will be trading places come the first Test with West Indies in a fortnight’s time.
Jennings is the latest in a long line of England openers to find their summer turn into something of a saga and still has one innings remaining in this match at least. But since earning his chance last winter through Hameed’s broken hand and starring on debut with a century in Mumbai, the theme of this first home season has not been one of permanence.
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