Jacob Bethell proved why we rate him highly: Ben Stokes

Jacob Bethell is only 21 years old and has played only two Test matches for his nation. However, his performances at the highest level are already making headlines and turning heads.

England were in a fix after Jordan Cox was injured prior to the three-Test series against New Zealand, as he was their main keeping option. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes then made a left-field move. They employed Bethell, who had never batted at three in first-class cricket, to come into the English side and hold the critical position. 

The youngster didn’t disappoint and already had two half-centuries, one of them being a match-winning 96 in the second Test, which England won by 323 runs. Moreover, he’s already going places as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) picked him for INR 2.6 crore in the auction for the Indian Premier League’s (IPL) 2025 edition. 

That probably explains skipper Stokes's immense belief in him, as he expressed his thoughts on the youngster to Reuters. 

“I know there was a bit made of Beth [Betheell] batting at three with his inexperience and the lack of first-class cricket batting at the top of the order,” Stokes said. 

“But you know, me and [ Brendon McCullum] don’t think like that. You have a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to test cricket at its toughest? If he hadn’t batted in the top three, he wouldn’t have slapped 50 odd (in the first Test in Christchurch), which I’ve got no doubt led him into this game with the confidence to go out there and play the way that he did in our second innings.”

Stokes also admitted that he was crestfallen after the youngster missed his maiden century in the second Test by four runs. 

“I was devastated for him to not get that three figures,” Stokes admitted.

“I walked in and I said to him, ‘it’s only four runs, isn’t it?’ And his response was, ‘Yeah, but it would have been flare if I’d smacked that through the covers to bring it up’. He’s proved a lot to a lot of people and proved why we rate him so highly.”

England have already clinched the three-Test series after winning the first two Tests, and the third Test will be held on December 14 in Hamilton. 

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here