‘Destructive’ Jacob Bethell to bat at three on England Test debut against New Zealand, Ollie Pope to keep wicket
Published 26/11/2024 at 07:42 GMT
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21-year-old Jacob Bethell will make his England Test debut batting at three against New Zealand in Christchurch, despite never making a century in any format. Ollie Pope will keep wicket as no replacement has been flown over in time to fill in for Jordan Cox, who fractured his thumb in the nets, and Jamie Smith, who is on paternity leave.
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Video credit: TNT Sports
Jacob Bethell will make his England Test debut against New Zealand in Christchurch, batting at three in what is another huge leap of faith from head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
The 21-year-old all-rounder is yet to hit a century in any professional format of the game and has never batted so high up in the order in first-class cricket.
But Bethell is regarded as an exceptional talent and will get his opportunity in the first of three Tests, live on TNT Sports and discovery+, with Ollie Pope keeping wicket.
The vice-captain fills the void left by Jordan Cox, who was due to make his own debut before he fractured his thumb in the nets, with fellow wicket-keeper Jamie Smith back in the UK on paternity leave. Pope will also drop down the batting order to six.
Wholesale changes have been made to the attack in what will be hugely different conditions to the recent tour of Pakistan. Gus Atkinson retains his place and is joined by fellow fast-bowlers Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse to provide fellow support for Stokes, with Shoaib Bashir picked as the only spinner.
Root will come in at four on what will be his 150th Test appearance, and he is backing Bethell to be a success.
"I love the look of him as a player. I'm really looking forward to watching him do his stuff," he said.
"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.
"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 for us to see a young player coming in hopefully doing something really special at the start of his career."]
Root goes into the match on the back of comments from former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann describing him as a "rung below" fellow batters Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and the Black Caps’ Kane Williamson when considering modern legends of the game, but the former captain did not seem bothered.
"My job is to score runs, right? His job is to give his opinion and talk on the radio," he said.
"I'll do my job and he can do his job. He's completely entitled to say what he wants. I've not spoken to him for a while but, like I said, he's got a job to do. That's his right."
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New Zealand and England will compete for the newly created Crowe-Thorpe Trophy, in memory of greats from both sides - Martin Crowe and Graham Thorpe. Bats belonging to both of them have been used to make the prize.
"I think it's amazing, a really nice way to celebrate two greats from each nation," Root said.
"The influence Thorpey had on my career is unrivalled really. To get to work with him for so long - the hours, time, effort and energy he put into my game - I'll be forever grateful for all he did for me.
"It's nice to have something to play for in his name and similarly for Crowey as well. Hopefully the two teams represent the way they played and we'll have a humdinger of a series."
Watch and stream every ball of the New Zealand v England and Australia v India Test series in the UK on TNT Sports and discovery+
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