Pope and Crawley in firing line for England as India series nears, with Jacob Bethell in the fray to be selected.
Pressure on Pope and Crawley with Bethell in line for role against India.
Despite missing the first Test of the summer against Zimbabwe, Ben Stokes has made it clear that Jacob Bethell will be back as England’s No. 3 against India.
Bethell will be in Lucknow, more than 4,000 miles away, getting ready for Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s penultimate match in the IPL league stages against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday, even though the international season begins at Trent Bridge on Thursday. Before heading back to the UK to report for the first ODI against the West Indies at Edgbaston on Thursday, May 29, it will be his final outing for the team.
According to the deal the ECB had with its IPL players, Bethell was always going to miss the Zimbabwe Test. The competition was originally scheduled to conclude on Sunday before it was suspended due to political instability between India and Pakistan. However, after making an impression on Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum in his first Test series against New Zealand at the end of last year, he is anticipated to return to the Test XI at first drop.
The 21-year-old received great praise for his flair and maturity, which supported an average of 52.00 from 260 runs, including three half-centuries across six innings. After Jordan Cox was injured on the eve of the first Test, McCullum was especially impressed with Bethell’s handling of the last-minute circumstances surrounding his elevation. Vice-captain Ollie Pope took over and dropped down the order after Cox was slated to keep wicket while Jamie Smith was on paternity leave.
At the conclusion of the series, McCullum gave both Pope and Bethell credit for their contributions, but he also admitted that Pope’s future was somewhat unclear because of Bethell’s.
“He’s [Bethell’s] definitely given us a good headache and we’ve got a couple of months to work out what we’re doing.”
“If you’re smart enough, the series that Beth had out in New Zealand, obviously he’s going to be back in the UK for that India series,” Stokes said, when asked about Bethell. “I think you put 2 and 2 together, you probably know what’s going to happen.
“You look at what Beth did in the winter for us, if you talk about nailing down a position, Beth has done himself the world of good by the performances he put in there with being part of our plans going forward.”
The strain on Pope and even Zak Crawley is increased by Stokes’ support of Bethell on the eve of the first of 11 Test matches in a nine-month period that will define the team’s legacy. Both have struggled to score at the top of the order on a regular basis; Crawley, in particular, has struggled in New Zealand, averaging 8.66.