Ollie Pope ended the year with no guarantees about his England place and Jacob Bethell in line to stay at No 3.
Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes have been rock solid in their support of Pope throughout his up-and-down form since they took charge but Bethell’s surprise emergence, and the way he coped with batting at No 3, averaging 52 having never done it before in his professional career, looks certain to force a rethink of the batting line-up.
When asked directly if Pope would return to No 3, McCullum offered no assurances, saying instead Bethell had given them “a good problem to have”.
It is a change in tone from earlier in the tour. Speaking in the lead-up to the second Test in Wellington two weeks ago, Stokes said Pope, who kept in the New Zealand series because of Jordan Cox’s injury, would go “back up to three” when everyone was fit and available. With Jamie Smith to return to the side after missing the New Zealand series for the birth of his first child, England will be forced to make a decision over Pope’s long-term future.
“We were all a little unsure whether Beth could play at three when we asked him to do it but we saw the talent in him and he has performed very well against a very good bowling line-up, it must be said,” said McCullum. “We will work it out. Popey has done really well for us and to have Beth there as well, you are adding some depth to your batting stocks. When we get together again in a few months’ time we will work all that stuff out.”
McCullum did, however, offer unwavering support to Zak Crawley, saying he still had “our full confidence” and is a “huge member of our team” despite averaging 8.6 in New Zealand.
If Pope is dropped when England pick their next Test squad, which is not until the summer when they play Zimbabwe in May, and Crawley retained he would be right to feel aggrieved. Crawley averaged 27.80 in 2024, and failed to score a hundred. He averaged 8.66 in New Zealand but England believe he is a player capable of barnstorming performances and his average against Australia and India is 36.6, compared with Pope’s 22.05.
“We set up our team to have complementary players and guys like Zak are so important. He’s got our full confidence and he knows at his best he wins us games. He’s still a huge member of this side,” said McCullum.
Bethell was pressed into the No 3 role in Christchurch after Cox broke his finger in a warm-up match. The highest he had batted for Warwickshire was a one-off match at No 4 and had spent most of his career to date at six or seven. In every innings he came in early because of Crawley’s dismal form and while he never made a big first-innings score, he did at least look compact and calm at the crease. In the second innings he cashed in, scoring fifties in every Test.
His 37-ball half century in Christchurch persuaded England to stick with him for the series despite the arrival on tour of keeper Ollie Robinson – his arrival was an opportunity to restore Pope to No 3 but England wanted to see more of what Bethell could offer.
“Nice player, ain’t he? He has a nice bit of class about him,” said McCullum about Bethell. “It feels like he has been in the team for three or four years. He is a calm and mature young fella. He is one of those guys who is very meticulous with his preparation and planning, then he lets his flair and creativity show on the big stage. He is a guy we can’t be more happy with after what he has achieved in this series and I think he has shown that international cricket is for him.”
Pope kept well in New Zealand and twice helped dig England out of trouble with Harry Brook. He scored 77 and 66 in the first innings of the first two Tests, laying the foundations for big wins. But overall he averaged 33 in 2024 and has now played 55 Tests without ever finding consistency. His dismissal in the second innings of the Hamilton hammering, bowled top of off stump trying a reverse ramp, did not look good and summed up his career to date.
England have plenty of time to ponder their options and injury could change things. But Smith is certain to return after making a strong start to his Test career, often scoring runs when England were in trouble. He came in at 118 for six in Rawalpindi and hit six sixes in a counterattacking 89. He made 95 from 169 for six against West Indies at Edgbaston, 111 from 125 for four against Sri Lanka and another fifty against Sri Lanka in the next Test at the Oval.
He performed well behind the stumps last summer and his only mistakes came in Pakistan, a tough place to keep with low bounce on turning pitches. He will not face the same challenges next summer or in Australia.
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