Five alternatives for Keaton Jennings

#2 Mark Stoneman

Mark Stoneman is in great form in county cricket, and smacked a career-best 197 this season

Switching over to Surrey from Durham for the 2017 County Championship seems to have reaped immediate rewards for left-hander Mark Stoneman. Already the third-highest run-getter this season, Stoneman continues to build a reputation for being one of the most potent opening batsmen in England.

Aged 30, his desire to step out in England colours has not waned – a forceful factor in Stoneman moving south to Surrey. Heaps of runs – 761 at 58.53 – in his first spell at his new county swings the pendulum in his favour to nail a spot which has changed hands an unbelievable number of times in half a decade.

A fluent batsman, he was also given command of Durham when Paul Collingwood was away due to an injury in the first-class competition, while as the one-day captain, he led Durham to victory in the Royal London Cup in 2014. Two years earlier, the county had chosen him as the Batsman of the Year, and he further grew in stature when he completed 1,000 runs in consecutive seasons in 2012 and 2013.

At just the exact time to allow Stoneman the exposure of international cricket, if England look elsewhere instead of someone who achieved his highest first-class score of 197 this year, they may have missed an opportunity to blood in the enthusiasm of a man dying to play for his country.