During the 1930 season, Nottinghamshire announced that it would no longer regularly select Gunn, who was 51 at the time, and Payton, who was 48, after the end of the season in order to open up places in the side for younger batsmen; when Whysall, a "stripling" of 43, died unexpectedly following a fall in November 1930, the county decided not to reverse the policy, and accordingly in the 1931 season new players came into the team, among them Keeton. (In practice, the policy was modified and Gunn played fairly regularly in 1931 and 1932, and Payton was also recalled for a few matches in 1931.) Promoted to open the innings (often alongside Gunn), Keeton responded with an unbeaten century in the game against Essex in June 1931 and thereafter was a regular in that position for the rest of the season. By the end of his first full season of first-class cricket he had amassed 1233 runs at an average of 30.07.