It was a vignette that, should Jacob Bethell make good on his promise, might come to be regarded as marking the arrival of England’s next great white-ball talent.
Needing 62 from 42 balls to win, with seven wickets in hand, England were slight favourites in the second Twenty20 international against Australia in Cardiff. Yet home optimism was tempered by a combination of a relatively shallow batting line-up, the white-ball side’s recent strife – and the knowledge that, on a ground assisting turn, Adam Zampa had two overs remaining.
Zampa is among the leading T20 bowlers in the world; combining sharp pace with variations that include a venomous googly, he is a master of leg spin in the format. Yet Bethell – just 20 years old, playing his second international game and on 16 not out – saw his return as a chance to tug the game decisively England’s way.
If nothing else, Zampa’s record demands respect; Bethell did not afford it. Instead, he skipped down the pitch to Zampa’s first ball back, using his wrists to force him through midwicket.
With a four from the first ball of the over, England could knock singles from the rest of the over and still keep up with the required rate. Yet Bethell’s horizons were altogether greater; he spied an opportunity to secure the game. As a left-hander against a bowler whose stock delivery turns into him, Bethell explained, “the opportunity came to take advantage of a match-up”.
From Zampa’s second delivery, Bethell used his feet once again. Only, this time, his contact was even cleaner, launching Zampa over long on and into the crowd: a 100-metre blow.
Zampa responded with a googly; Bethell spotted it, rocked back and scythed it through the covers. From the fourth delivery, Bethell again used the depth of his crease, pulling a long-hop for four. Zampa seldom bowls such poor deliveries; then again, he is seldom put under as much pressure. In four deliveries, Bethell had thrashed 18 runs; England scored 20 from the over, turning a fraught chase into a cruise, with the required rate down to seven.
This flurry fit within the ethos of modern T20. When a match-up is in a batting side’s favour – as it was for Bethell against leg spin – batsmen should double down, even while risking getting out. Bethell had the chutzpah, power and dazzling skill to use this logic as his cue to eviscerate Zampa.
As he did so, the blond streaks in his hair and high backlift at the crease add to the sense of showmanship. Marcus Trescothick, England’s interim white-ball coach, had hailed Bethell as a “superstar” in the making before the series. Alongside his gallivanting batting, useful left-arm spin and dynamic fielding make Bethell’s allure even greater.
‘Emotions spill out on nights like these’
Bethell has long been hailed as potentially one of the most exciting players of his generation – and not only in England. A Barbados native, born into a family with a rich cricket history on the island – his grandad captained Sir Garfield Sobers – Bethell enrolled in the Franklyn Stephenson Academy. Stephenson aged 11. The Academy had one particularly distinguished visitor: Brian Lara, who declared that Bethell was better than he was at the same age. Bethell’s family travelled from Barbados to watch his first series as an international cricketer.
“They’ve given up so much to give me this opportunity to come over here,” Bethell said. “To do it in front of them – they’ve not watched me play a lot of cricket live, so to finally watch me, and it being in international colours, is unreal.
“They were planning a trip for the end of September. They’d never been over for an end-of-season thing and wanted to come to the dinner. But this came up, so they were like, ‘We’ll try to push it forward’.”
How glad the Bethell clan will be that they did. After his 24-ball 44, Bethell went over to his mum, dad and two sisters in the stands. “They just said they’re proud. Emotions spill out on nights like these, but they’re happy and I’m happy, so it’s good.”
Aged 13, Bethell moved to England, lured by a sports scholarship at Rugby School. Here, he bulked up, morphing from supreme touch player into a formidable six-hitter, thriving at age-group level. In 2022, Bethell starred in the U-19 World Cup, hitting 88 from 42 balls against South Africa.
Last summer, Mo Bobat, then England’s performance director – met with Warwickshire to discuss Bethell. No matter that Bethell was only 19 at the time, Bobat stressed England’s desire to accelerate his progress into international cricket and asked if Warwickshire could use him more prominently. Astoundingly, given what Bethell has achieved since, he was dropped by Birmingham Bears in last year’s T20 Blast competition.
England’s ambitions for Bethell stretch far beyond being a devastating T20 middle-order batsman. He has also been picked in England’s one-day international squad to face Australia. Bethell might line up at number seven, although such a berth would put greater strain on his bowling, which is currently less advanced than his batting.
Ultimately, England believe that Bethell can play Test cricket too. Certainly, modest first-class statistics in 20 games – an average of 25.4 with the bat and 96.1 with the ball – will not prevent England from exploring his red-ball potential. His batting style is an ideal fit for the current regime; his left-arm spin – turning the ball the opposite way to Shoaib Bashir – would provide balance and variety. “The dream is to play Test cricket for England,” Bethell told Telegraph Sport last month.
A player as captivating as Bethell didn’t even need his takedown of Zampa to be in demand in franchise cricket around the world: he already has a Big Bash contract this winter. As more suitors follow, one of England’s challenges will be how to accelerate Bethell’s development into a potential Test player.
In November, England Lions tour South Africa, where they will play first-class games. Bethell is likely to be on the tour: an indication of England’s belief in his red-ball potential. Even two games into his international career, there is already a case that Bethell should be awarded some form of contract – even if not a full central contract – to allow England to shape his career trajectory.
Talent as compelling as Bethell’s is rare. It need not be confined to a white-ball alone.
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