Jacob Bethell has been added to the England squad

On the eve of the New Zealand Test series, England have sprung their latest surprise, handing Jacob Bethell a debut at No.3. Jeff Thomas reports from Christchurch.

When England named their squad for the upcoming Test series in New Zealand, the inclusion of rookie Jacob Bethell led to more than a few elevated eyebrows. While conventional wisdom has long been found scattered beneath many a selection room window during the Key/McCullum/Stokes era, this was arguably England’s boldest and most left-field selection to date – quite a feat considering that Rehan Ahmed, Shoaib Bashir and Josh Hull had managed 19 first-class appearances between them prior to their Test debuts.

Now, after the luckless Jordan Cox busted his right thumb in the nets on Sunday, it’s been confirmed that Bethell’s Test debut at the Hagley Oval on Thursday will be from the pivotal slot at No.3. The funkiest of selections just got funkier.

Ben Stokes recognised that such a bold pick will divide opinion but defended the selection. "We're not picking people just to wind people up. We do know what we're doing. We do know what we look for, and when you're in a position to make decisions, you've got to do it by your standards and your means."

With so much credit in the bank, questioning England’s unwavering commitment to dice-rolling is clearly ill-advised. But this particular gamble of Bethell at No.3 feels extreme even by their standards.

Bethell’s inclusion is the first time since Mike Gatting in 1978 that England have picked a Test batter who has yet to register three figures in first-class cricket. At 21, Bethell has played only 20 first-class matches, amassed 738 runs at an average of 25.44, and not one of them from No.3 in the order.

Bethell’s thrilling early white-ball adventures highlighted his immense talent but the worry for England fans is the leap from whacking white balls out of the park in Barbados to repelling the swinging red one he’ll face from Matt Henry and Tim Southee on a grassy track here in Christchurch. It’s not a worry Stokes shares. "Beth's got the capability to be able to go out there, bat three and hopefully impact the game, like he has done throughout the summer in the white-ball team." Simple, eh?

Pretty much from the moment that Bethell, born and raised in Barbados, arrived in the UK on a scholarship to Rugby School aged 13, England’s brains trust have been convinced that they’ve a generational talent on their hands. Brian Lara had seen him play as an 11-year-old and declared him to be “much better” than he had been at that age, and the reputation has grown steadily since. He joined the ranks at Warwickshire and signed his first professional contract at 17. In 2022 he was part of the England Under 19 side that made it to the World Cup final, his blistering 88 from 42 balls in the quarter-final against South Africa, an early indicator of the crisp 360-degree ball-striking recently showcased during England’s white-ball tour of the West Indies.

While performances in short-form cricket are not always a sound indicator of a batter’s suitability to Test cricket, Stokes and McCullum saw enough to believe that Bethell not only has the prodigious talent to succeed but also, crucially, the technique. Beyond the forearms and fast-hands there is a solid, orthodox base from which he plays. There is an almost Strauss-like simplicity in his set-up, the merest hint of a back-foot trigger movement allowing his weight to transfer forward to drive or gently rocking back to cut or pull, and crucially at the moment of contact, his head remains perfectly still.

Joe Root believes Bethell has what it takes. "The way his game sets up suits Test cricket. I'm really looking forward to watching him go out there and play. It's a really exciting time for him." With his first IPL contract secured on Monday – a tidy £246,000 deal with RCB – it most certainly is.

With Root and Stokes in such persuasive and bullish moods, it’s easy to believe batting at No.3 might be a doddle for Bethell but the reality for England is that during the last decade, the position has been the most difficult place in the order to bat.

Over the last decade England have tried 23 different options at No.3 and of those who have done it more than twice, only three have averaged over 33 – ironically, they will all feature this week (Joe Root 45.49 from 54 innings, Ollie Pope 40.28 from 47 knocks, and Zak Crawley 38.50 from 10).

With Pope taking the gloves, the move down to No.6 to lighten his workload is understandable. Breaking up the red-hot Duckett/Crawley partnership at the top of the order is barely an option at all, so that leaves Root. Would logic (remember that?) not dictate that the infinitely more experienced former captain simply move up (as he did in Multan last month when he scored 262) rather than expose Bethell to something so uncharted and experimental on debut?

The clue is in the question. Thrusting Bethell into the firing line rather than allowing him to express himself from a less pressurised role in the middle order feels gratuitous. His inclusion in the XI alone is a daring statement of intent; does it really need to be made bold, underlined and italicised too?

No previous England regime would have had the balls and sheer audacity to make this call, but this is Stokes’ England. "We've always done what we feel is right for the team. It's gone in our favour quite a lot, so I think we do know what we're doing.” It’s undeniably compelling, and potentially kamikaze. Yet it might just work.

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