England’s management left open the possibility that Bethell would continue at No. 3 for their home series against India, but he missed their one-off Test against Zimbabwe in late May due to his IPL commitments with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and Pope scored 171 to effectively secure the No. 3 spot.
Bethell finally got his chance to replace Pope for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG after Pope managed just 125 runs in six innings, and top-scored with 40 in England’s successful run chase on the second day. He followed up with a dazzling maiden hundred in Sydney, finishing the fourth day unbeaten on 142 to keep England’s slim hopes of a second win in the series alive.
He pushed back at the idea that he had sacrificed his place by going to the IPL rather than returning home for the Zimbabwe Test, the result of the ECB’s agreement with the BCCI to make England players fully available. “I wouldn’t say I gave it away at the IPL,” he told Fox Cricket. “That experience I had over there was unbelievable… I came back a better cricketer.”
He added: “I was pretty happy with how I went in New Zealand. I knew that I was coming in two places away: there was Jamie Smith, who was not present on the tour, and then Coxy was the back-up batter that got injured. I knew that it’d be a tough decision to bring me back in place of someone else.
“I had that on my radar and just was waiting for the opportunity to make sure I was ready. I had a little opportunity again through injury in the summer against India, and didn’t take it, so it’s nice to score some runs now.”
Bethell also suggested that spending the first six weeks of the Ashes tour on the sidelines had been “a blessing” for him since it enabled him to find some form while batting in the nets and for England Lions in their tour game against Australia A.
“I actually wasn’t batting that well at the start of the series, and then I played some cricket over here, played that Lions game, and throughout the month-and-a-half before playing, I actually felt my batting was in a better spot. It was actually quite nice timing”
Jacob Bethell
“I actually wasn’t batting that well at the start of the series, and then I played some cricket over here, played that Lions game, and throughout the month-and-a-half before playing, I actually felt my batting was in a better spot. It was actually quite nice timing. No-one likes to sit on the sidelines – I was champing at the bit to get going – but I think the timing was pretty good.”
Bethell had never previously made a hundred in first-class cricket, let alone Tests, a statistical quirk that owed primarily due to lack of opportunity: he only played once in the County Championship for Warwickshire last season, and had previously been used at No. 6 or 7.
It was not a fact that fazed him, not least after he experienced the “addictive” feeling of scoring his first England hundred in an ODI against South Africa in September. “It was always coming,” Bethell said. “It’s nice to get over the milestone, and it gave me a lot of confidence to keep doing it.”
It took Bethell eight balls to move from 99 to 103, skipping down the pitch to swing Beau Webster’s offspin over midwicket for four, and he admitted that he had experienced “a few nerves” despite looking outwardly calm throughout.
“It actually felt okay,” he said. “I was quite happy when they brought spin on rather than [Scott] Boland. I was a bit nervous around him: he just lands it there and is pretty hard to score off, especially when they bring the field up. When they brought the spinner on, I was pretty comfortable to take him over the top. But there were a few nerves there.”
They were nothing compared to those felt by his family – including his parents Graham and Giselle and his sister Laura – watching in the Brewongle Stand, who were visibly emotional when Bethell celebrated his hundred. “I gave them a little thumbs up just to acknowledge them. It’s pretty special.”
Bethell’s dad played alongside Joe Root’s father Matt at Sheffield Collegiate in Yorkshire, while his grandfather Arthur played first-class cricket for Barbados. “Cricket runs in my family: granddad and dad played at quite a high level, but to actually step out in front of them – granddad’s no longer here, but he’ll be watching over – is so special.”
Matt Roller is a senior correspondent at ESPNcricinfo. @mroller98
