Jacob Bethell walks off the field in Christchurch with Joe Root after scoring his maiden Test half-century

Jacob Bethell’s 37-ball half-century, the joint-second fastest fifty on debut in Test history, gave the cricketing world a tantalising glimpse into the future but it was his 49-minute vigil in the first innings that should excite England fans, writes Jeff Thomas from Christchurch.

On Sunday afternoon at the Hagley Oval the sun was beating down hard, the Barmy Army were in full and mischievous voice and England needed just 104 to take a one-nil lead in the series. Zak Crawley had departed early, as he always does against New Zealand (he now averages 9.88 from 17 innings) but as run chases go this was about as low pressure as it gets.

England duly released the handbrake and dialled ‘Bazball’ up to eleven. Bethell’s unbeaten 50, including eight fours and a six, was an astonishing and exhilarating adrenaline rush. When four boundaries were struck off five Nathan Smith deliveries you could almost smell the confidence oozing out of the 21-year-old. Reliving the knock, he was just as self-assured. “Pretty much every time I’ve played against better people I’ve played better,” Bethell said. “Took the step up into the Hundred, I played better. Straight into internationals, I played better. So I didn’t really have a doubt in my mind coming into Test cricket that I’d have gone well.

“It’s everything I’ve dreamed of to be honest. Since I was a little kid I’ve always dreamed of playing Test cricket, I remember watching the Ashes, and just any England Tests on TV and wanting to be a part of it and then since Baz took over with Stokesy I’ve always watched it on TV and gone, ‘How fun does that look?’ and it lived up to expectation, it was so much fun.”

But while Bethell’s Sunday afternoon romp in the sun was clearly attention-grabbing and headline-inducing, in reality, it only served to confirm the facts we already knew – he’s fearless, a devastating power-hitter and possesses a talent-ceiling so high it would make the nearby Mount Cook green with envy. What wasn’t clear heading into this match was whether his technique would stand up against the world’s best red-ball bowlers when conditions were in their favour.

So, let’s rewind to the second morning of the Test. With a blanket of thick grey cloud hovering menacingly above the green-tinged strip, Bethell came to the crease in just the fourth over of England’s first innings. At one end, Matt Henry, the King of Hagley, was ruling supreme and had the ball wobbling and nipping prodigiously. And so threatening was Tim Southee from the other, even Ben Duckett was leaving the ball outside off-stump. As baptisms of fire go, this was red-hot. Many a young player would have wilted under such a suffocating examination but for 49 minutes (two minutes longer than his second innings blitz lasted) Bethell was well organised in defence, holding firm, playing late, under his eyes and with the straightest of bats. He left the ball judiciously and was completely unfazed by the occasional play and miss. In short, he looked every inch a top-order Test batter. For a 21-year-old who had never batted at No.3 in first-class cricket his coolness and serenity were staggering.

“He’s probably not going to get a tougher test than that to be honest,” reflected Stokes, “The way Tim Southee and Matt Henry bowled early on with that new ball was very, very impressive. They are two guys who are very experienced in these conditions and know exactly how to bowl. He played and missed a bit early on but I loved the way he just scratched his mark, walked to square-leg, and came back and just faced up again.”

When Bethell launched fellow debutant Smith for a front foot pull-shot to the midwicket fence and then slashed a cut behind square it looked as if he had ridden the storm. Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. In Smith’s next over, the last before the interval, Bethell received, arguably, the ball of the match. Just short of a length from around the wicket, angled in and holding its line to take the faintest of outside edges little blame could be attached to Bethell. His footwork was positive, his elbow high and blade perfectly upright. It was simply an outstanding piece of bowling and Bethell was good enough to nick it. “Yeah, but that’s part of the game,” he said. “If I got through to lunch, it looked like a different pitch after, I think it could have been a different story. I battled hard and unluckily didn’t get through to lunch but another day you get through and go on to make a big one.”

The 34-ball stay was still long enough to impress his captain. “He didn’t get the runs he would have liked but I thought the way in which he just held himself at the crease for the time that he was out there was very impressive for someone so young on their debut as well,” Stokes said. “If he sticks to having that attitude and that sort of swagger about him, I think he’s going to be alright.”

With the arrival of Durham wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson, England have options as they head to Wellington but with Ollie Pope performing so tidily with the gloves and making such a telling contribution from No.6, Stokes and McCullum may well be tempted to extend the Bethell experiment for the series. Expectation levels will certainly have risen following such an eye-catching destruction of the Kiwi attack in the second dig, but it might just be the character, courage and composure shown in the first that give him the nod for the second Test. Whatever England decide, one thing is clear, the kid is going to be more than alright.

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