Jacob Bethell is set to make his Test debut for England at No.3 during the first of the three-match series against New Zealand in Christchurch starting November 28.
Bethell made his white-ball debut in ODIs and T20Is against Australia earlier this year. The all-rounder impressed during England’s recent white-ball series against West Indies with three fifties across both formats. He will bat at No.3, a position which belongs to vice-captain Ollie Pope. A hand injury to uncapped Jordan Cox, who was supposed to keep wicket in the series in the absence of regular Jamie Smith, led to the rejig in the batting order.
With Cox’s replacement for the three-match series yet to be named, Pope will now don the gloves for the first Test. As a result, he will now bat at No.6 , with Joe Root, set to play his 150th Test, remaining at No.4.
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Notably, Bethell, 21, hasn’t batted higher than number four in his 20 first-class appearances, and he doesn’t have a century across formats. His elevation comes after he bagged his maiden IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who acquired the all-rounder’s service for INR 2.6 crore.
On an expected green deck, spinner Shoaib Bashir has been included in the XI, with Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse as the frontline pace bowling options.
England XI for Christchurch Test against New Zealand
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir
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