Uncapped duo Keaton Jennings and Liam Dawson have been called up by England for the rest of their winter tour in India.

Durham opener Jennings comes in for injured Lancashire opener Haseeb Hameed, who needs surgery after breaking his left hand on Day Two of the third Test.

Hampshire all-rounder Dawson replaces Surrey all-rounder Zafar Ansari, who has struggled with his back through the series.

England lost the third Test by nine wickets and are 2-0 down in the series and face a must-win situation in the fourth Test, which is set to begin on 8 December.

Jennings gets first England call-up

Twenty-four-year-old Jennings captained his native South Africa at Under-19 level and is the son of former Proteas coach Ray Jennings.

Jennings was the leading run-scorer in Division One of the County Championship season with 1,548 runs, an average of 64.50 – and his top score of 221 came against 2015 winners Yorkshire.

He is due to meet up with the squad on 5 December for preparations, however, Jennings will also be making his England Lions debut on Thursday against the United Arab Emirates.

And if he is selected for the Mumbai Test, which is looking likely, he will be the ninth Durham player to have played a Test match for England.

Duo to replace injured Hameed and Ansari

Dawson was selected alongside Jennings for the Lions programme this winter and the all-rounder is a like-for-like replacement for the injured Ansari.

He was released to play in the Bangladesh Premier League, but has been called up to the England squad for the remaining two Tests, which England need to win to rescue the series.

The all-rounder made his ODI debut against Pakistan in Cardiff in September, while his T20 debut came in July against Sri Lanka in Southampton.

The call-ups come as no surprise because England need a partner for Alistair Cook after Hameed's injury, and a front-line spinner for the remaining two matches.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Andrew McDonnell
Sports writer based in the North-East of England, safe to say I have found my niche in sports writing and I strive to succeed with everything I do, including Vavel, both in the UK and USA. First official Writer of the week for the USA office too. Cover Manchester United, Watford, Cricket, MLS and NFL.