Jennings retained for fifth Test against India

Following Cook’s announcement that the fifth match of the series against India would be his 161st and final Test appearance, attention has naturally turned to who will replace England’s record run scorer.

Jennings’ place in the team has also come under scrutiny following a glut of low scores alongside the 33-year-old. 

But the Lancashire left-hander’s gutsy second-innings 36 in the 60-run win in Southampton last week that opened up an unassailable 3-1 lead earned him a stay of execution.

A judgement on who will tour Sri Lanka next month at the start of the post-Cook era will be made next week but an indication of the selectors’ thinking was arguably revealed by the presence of Ed Smith’s right-hand man James Taylor at Chelmsford on Tuesday, watching the country’s most prolific batsman Rory Burns.

Also featuring in the Surrey XI versus Essex was Ollie Pope - although the 20-year-old will join up with England on Thursday after being granted the chance to play the first two days only.

In fact, the only change to the squad from the 14 that gathered for the pivotal fourth Test in Southampton was the omission of James Vince.

Chris Woakes, the man of the match as England went 2-0 up at Lord’s last month, will be assessed in practice after a recurrence of the thigh pain that has dogged him all summer kept him on the sidelines at the Ageas Bowl.

Meanwhile, one other intriguing sub-plot of the series finale is that England stopped short of identifying their wicketkeeper for the contest.

Jonny Bairstow reluctantly passed on the gloves to vice-captain Joe Buttler last week due to a fractured finger but fared poorly as a specialist batsman.  An announcement on whether he gets them back will be made closer to Friday’s first day, as will confirmation of captain Joe Root’s place in the order following his mid-match switch to No 4 last Saturday.

England former player David Lloyd feels Alastair Cook should not have played in The Oval Test. “Alastair Cook has been a fabulous player, a wonderful ambassador for the game and a great servant of English cricket but I do not agree with him playing another Test,” he wrote in his column for an English newspaper. “Once someone has decided he is heading into retirement, that should be it in my book,” mentioned the 71-year-old.