Jacob Bethell is set to make his Test debut for England at the Hagley Oval which will host the first Test match of the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, the new name for the red-ball series between New Zealand and England. Bethell will bat for the Three Lions at No. 3 despite having made his white ball debut a few months ago. His addition to the side has reshuffled the playing XI, shifting other batters down the order.
Ollie Pope, who has been given an additional duty to keep the wickets too, will come in at No. 6, abandoning his first-drop position to make way for Bethell. With Jamie Smith on paternity leave, his understudy Jordan Cox was added to the squad for duties behind the stumps. However, Cox’s broken thumb ruled out any possibility of him stepping in for the role, shifting the focus to Pope. Ollie Pope last kept wickets in red-ball cricket in December 2022 against Pakistan.
The main focus, still, will be Jacob Bethell. His coming in at No. 3 shows that England associate many of their future plans with him. In just 15 International games, he has already amassed three half-centuries, two of which were scripted in red-ink. However, with a First-class average of only 25, his selection to the top order definitely is a shocker. Add to that the fact that he could not take part in the training games, having arrived in New Zealand only on Monday. This also begs the question as to why did England not think of getting someone like Joe Root or Harry Brook to come at the first drop. While Root said that he was not asked to bat at No. 3, he fully backed Bethell to do well at the said spot.
“I love the look of him as a player,” Root said when asked about England’s unusual decision of getting a debutant to bat at No. 3. “I’ve known Jacob and his family a long time and it’s been lovely to watch him grow up as a player coming through in Barbados then at Warwickshire. What he’s done in the white-ball stuff more recently has been exceptional.”
“He’s full of confidence, he’s got great ability and a really well rounded game. He’s a mature head on young shoulders and I think he has all the components to set him up nicely to be successful in this format and at this level. I’m sure he’ll enjoy every aspect of the week, I’m really looking forward to watching him do his stuff,” Joe Root said.
As told by Root, Jacob and his father played the sport together at Sheffield Collegiate Cricket Club. The English top-order batter also said that he thinks letting a youngster make his debut at the all-important position on a pitch like that at Hagley Oval is a great idea, since the bounce on the offer allows batters to accumulate big runs.
“If you look at the way he sets up I think it suits that (batting at three), especially here with the little bit of extra bounce and carry. He plays very well square of the wicket and if he gets in on a wicket like that he could be very destructive. It’s a really exciting opportunity and prospect for us to see a young player coming in hopefully doing something really special at the start of his career,” Root opined.
England have chosen to go with three pacers and one spinner for the opening Test despite the Hagley Oval’s reputation as a pace-friendly venue. Shoaib Bashir will be the only spinner in the lineup.
The series has been named as the Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, after New Zealand and England’s former greats, Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe. A trophy made from the wood of both cricketers’ bats, as a collaboration between NZC, ECB, and said players’ families, will be awarded to the winning team. The trophy will be unveiled by Martin Crowe’s sister, Deb Crowe, and former English cricketer, Michael Atherton before the start of the opening Test.
England’s playing XI for first Test:
1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Jacob Bethell, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ollie Pope (wk), 7 Ben Stokes (capt), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Gus Atkinson, 10 Brydon Carse, 11 Shoaib Bashir
