County Championship: Keaton Jennings stars with 190 as Lancashire dominate Surrey

Keaton Jennings has scored 1,224 runs in Division One this season

Keaton Jennings hit a brilliant 190 not out to press his case for an England recall as Lancashire dominated day one against champions Surrey.

Jennings, who is now the leading run-scorer in this year's County Championship, batted from start to finish to bring up his fifth hundred of the summer as the Red Rose ended on 414-5.

The left-handed opener shared a third wicket stand of 195 with Steven Croft who was out for 86, sparking a fall of three wickets for 13 runs as Lancashire slipped to 304-5.

But he found excellent support late in the day from George Balderson who finished unbeaten on 53 in an unbroken sixth wicket stand of 110.

Surrey, who wrapped up the title last Thursday with their 10-wicket triumph over Yorkshire, had a hard day in the field as they leaked runs at more than four runs per over, with Cameron Steel's 2-63 the best figures with the ball.

Having won the toss and decided to bat, Lancashire began confidently although Jennings was outscored by opening partner Luke Wells who fell for 36.

His 50 came up after lunch from 109 balls, but he only needed 60 balls to move from there to three figures.

If weight of runs in Championship cricket is the currency for England selection, then Jennings is ticking all the boxes.

Openers Alex Lees and Zak Crawley have not always convinced this summer despite England winning six Tests out of seven, but they will be on the plane to Pakistan for the three Tests in December.

However, if there is room for a third opener in the squad, Jennings must be close to being the next cab off the rank.

When he reached 160, he overtook Kent's Ben Compton as the leading run scorer in Division One of the County Championship this summer.

The 30-year-old currently has 1,224 runs at an average of 76.50 and this was the eighth time that he has passed 150 in his first-class career with a best of 318 against Somerset at Southport in July.

Jennings played the last of his 17 Tests for England away to the West Indies in early 2019 and while his average of 25.19 is below par, his two hundreds both came on the subcontinent.

He struck 112 on debut against India in Mumbai in December 2018 and a Test-best 146 not out in Galle against Sri Lanka in November 2018, something which must come into the thinking of the selectors for Pakistan, where being able to bat for long periods will be a big advantage.

He was not far off reaching his double century on day one either, with one drive which forced bowler Tom Curran to duck, the highlight of his and Lancashire's day.

Lancashire opener Keaton Jennings:

"It has been a fun season - I've had a few average seasons, so you enjoy these when they come around.

"Luke Wells has been brilliant for me - we've spoken a lot about game plans and the way we go about things and I think we've pushed each other quite nicely at the top of the order.

"I've tried new things which I haven't in previous seasons - I think in the past I was maybe a bit too scared to try things but they worked and that makes you relaxed.

"I'm a perfectionist so when things don't go well I am the first person to look inward and try and find a solution. But it's nice to go home and have a glass a wine or a beer with your loved ones and enjoy it rather than suffer the heartache thinking about errors you've made and bad things you've done."

Surrey all-rounder Cameron Steel:

"That was a proper innings from Keaton. We all know he is a proper player especially here at Old Trafford and especially against spin. He played beautifully - it's obviously a good pitch but hats off to him.

"There is definitely something there for the spinners. For the seamers it's pretty flat and slow but we could have bowled a bit better at times.

"I think there were about 40 overs of spin today which I haven't experienced in my career and it was nice to be a part of, especially on a turning pitch like that."