It says much about the character of Jacob Bethell that in a summer when the young all-rounder has been set up to fail by England’s management, he showed another glimpse of his rare talent during Thursday’s second one-day international against South Africa.
In isolation, Bethell’s innings of 58 from 40 deliveries at Lord’s is unlikely to be remembered in years to come, particularly as it came during yet another defeat for Harry Brook’s team.
Unlike the seven-wicket hammering in Leeds on Monday, this match was at least close, with Jofra Archer’s late cameo with the bat taking the contest right down to the final ball as England ultimately fell short by five runs.
Bethell’s counter-attacking knock after being moved up to No 4 in the order did much to help swing momentum back in his team’s favour after a slow start to the chase of 331.
But it was also another example of England heaping pressure on a player who is still just 21.
Shorn of time in the middle and runs since his last half-century in any format – his 82 in an ODI against the West Indies at Edgbaston in June – it would have been understandable if Bethell had failed again.
Many other players would have been shorn of confidence had they been through what he has endured this summer. It says everything about his mental toughness that he produced a performance that provided a timely reminder of just how good he is.
England starved Bethell of red-ball cricket this summer (Photo: Getty)Bethell may still be waiting for a first century as a professional. Yet the way he took down Keshav Maharaj when plundering 19 runs off the 19th over of the chase was extraordinary.
Maharaj is the world’s No1-ranked ODI bowler. He had never before conceded more than 17 from an over in this format. Bethell, though, treated him with disdain to inject some momentum back into an England innings that had been stalling before his arrival.
The Barbados-born player is special. It’s why England’s poor management of him since his breakout winter has been so maddening.
It had been a bold call to ask him to bat at No3 in New Zealand at the end of last year. But Bethell’s entrance to Test cricket was spectacular. His three half-centuries, including a second-innings knock of 96 in Wellington, only tell half the story. From the moment he took guard on debut in Christchurch he was calm, composed, compact in defence and ruthless when attacking.
Only given his chance after Ollie Pope was asked to keep wicket after an injury to Jordan Cox on the eve of the series, his quality was evident from the off.
Why then have England starved Bethell of red-ball cricket this summer?
It started with the decision to allow him to stay on at the Indian Premier League rather than return for the one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in May. With easy runs on offer, it would have been the perfect opportunity for Bethell to build on his performances in New Zealand.
As it was, Pope scored a century in that match to cement his position at No3. Yet with Bethell’s chance to claim that berth seemingly gone, England persisted with keeping him in their squad for the entirety of the India series rather than releasing him to play for Warwickshire.
It meant when he was called on for the final Test at The Oval after captain Ben Stokes had been ruled out through injury, Bethell had just one County Championship match this summer to fall back on.
He had faced just 67 balls in his single red-ball county game for Warwickshire against Somerset more than a month earlier.
square CRICKET English cricket is getting ugly – no wonder players are packing it in
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No wonder he failed against India, scoring 11 runs across two innings. Michael Vaughan, England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain, branded the decision to play Bethell at The Oval on the back of so little cricket as “diabolical”.
A lean time with the bat in the Hundred followed and then came the call from England again. With the majority of Ashes contenders rested for the T20 series in Ireland later this month, Bethell was named captain for that trip. He will be the youngest England captain in history when he takes the field in Dublin.
Yet even this piece of good news comes with an almighty caveat. Along with his involvement in these white-ball games against South Africa, the Ireland tour means Bethell will miss Warwickshire’s final three games of the Championship season.
It might not be such a problem were there not an Ashes tour on the horizon. But the fact is Bethell is likely to be England’s first reserve batter in Australia and, if he is called upon Down Under, he’ll be asked to take on one of the best bowling attacks in the world on the back of just two red-ball games this year.
When he was pitched in for his surprise Test debut in New Zealand last winter, it had come after a summer when he’d played 11 County Championship games.
That was reflected in his performances.
Ravi Bopara, the veteran Northants batter who was treated shabbily during his own England career, said of Bethell during his commentary stint at Lord’s on Thursday: “I feel for him that he hasn’t played much cricket this summer and I do feel playing four-day cricket for Warwickshire will help him develop. It is hard as a youngster to know what you need to do to get better.”
Rob Key, England’s managing director, has played down criticism of the management of Bethell this summer, saying last month he thought it was down to the “unbelievably conservative” mindset of English cricket, adding: “His career is not going to be defined in the last month.”
The problem for Key is that his winter may well be defined by a summer when he has been handled so badly, it’s a surprise England haven’t already broken him.
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