Can Keaton Jennings come back? Four batsmen who made successful returns to Test cricket

His wicket on Monday looks like it will be his last in Test cricket, but could Keaton Jennings make a third (technically fourth) comeback to the England side? TOM EDWARDS looks at five other batsmen who managed to come back from being dropped...

Justin Langer

One of the greats of Australian cricket and the man who is currently the head coach of the Australia side with the unenviable task of pulling them out of one of the lowest ebbs in their history.

Langer made his Test debut in 1993 batting at No.3 for Australia against the West Indies, and the then 22-year-old enjoyed a strong start, scoring a half-century in his second innings.

His first stay in the side lasted only five Tests, however, and finished with the ignominy of a pair against New Zealand in Auckland. By that point, he had two half-centuries and averaged just 21.50.

It was not until 1998 that Langer would get another consistent run in the team and it's not even like that return even started well either! He was dismissed for a golden duck by Pakistan's Wasim Akram in his first Test back, but came back to score his first Test century in the next match.

It was another 33 Tests before Langer would be, once again, dropped after a couple of poor performances against India in 2001. His time out of the side this time would be brief, however.

All throughout his Test career, Langer had been playing as a No.3, but he came in as an opener in the final Ashes match of 2001 and scored an unbeaten century. He would remain as an opener for the rest of his career, forming a legendary partnership with Matthew Hayden until he retired in 2007.

^{Justin Langer}

Chris Rogers

Having made his debut for Australia as a replacement for the injured Matthew Hayden against India, Chris Rogers was unceremoniously dropped after just one Test

He had even been given a central contract, but it was terminated just a year later after his four and 15 in the two innings he played were deemed below what was required.

He was 30 and playing for English county Derbyshire as an overseas player at the time. He told BBC Radio Derby: "I didn't see it coming. I'll have to accept it and try to get back in."

Australia's loss was county cricket's gain, and Rogers went score piles of runs in England and to captain not only Derbyshire, but also Middlesex, and then finally Somerset. 

His advanced age meant that his chances of returning to the Australia setup looked pretty slim. Five years after being dropped, however, he did just that, and things went far better this time around.

In 2013, at the age of 35, Rogers finally added to his sole Test when he opened for the batting for Australia against England. He would go on to play in 23 more Tests, forming a strong partnership with David Warner before retiring in 2014.

^{Chris Rogers}

Usman Khawaja

Though now an established part of the Australia side they almost cannot afford to drop due to a paucity of other high-quality options, things have not always been so straightforward for Usman Khawaja.

Cast your minds back to 2011 when Andrew Strauss' England managed to do what seemed unthinkable and won the Ashes in Australia.

In the final Test at Sydney, with the hosts' needing victory to just draw the series, a 24-year-old Khawaja made his debut as a replacement for the great Ricky Ponting.

They lost by an innings and England won the series, but Khawaja made a promising 37 in the first innings, and then 21 in the second.

He would last just two more Tests before being dropped in favour of Shaun Marsh, reinstated two Tests later, before then being dropped again three matches after that. Six games, one half-century, and an average of 29.22.

A second chance came, however, in the 2013 Ashes, but things, once again, did not go to plan. Three matches, one half-century, and an average of 19.00. It did not look good for the man fondly known as 'Ussie'.

Two years would pass before he got another bite of the cherry, and he took more than just a bite, he ate the whole damn thing. In his first Test back he scored not only his maiden Test 100, but his maiden 150 as Australia beat New Zealand by 208 runs at Brisbane.

He followed this up with another 100 at Perth against the same side, then another against the West Indies in his next innings, and finally a fourth consecutive Test hundred against New Zealand in Wellington. He has been a mainstay since. 

^{Usman Khawaja}

Nasser Hussain

The man who would become England captain actually had two false starts to his Test career.

He made his Test debut in 1990 aged 21 when England played the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, and scored 13 coming in at No.6, but Robert Bailey was preferred for the next Test. He returned to the side for the next two matches of the series, but failed to score a half-century in either.

This lack of return saw him dropped from the squad, only returning three years later for the 1993 Ashes. He scored his maiden half-century in the opening match of the series, but this was about as good as it would get for the Essex batsman. His Test career was seven matches old by this point and he was averaging just 25.81 with no hundreds to his name.

This continued lack of consistent return saw him dropped again, and it took almost took another three years for him to regain his place in the side when India visited England in 1996.

This time it was as a No.3 and this time he got it right, scoring his first-ever Test century in the first match of the series, which was then followed by a second century in the third and final Test. His position in the side was secured and he became captain in 1999.