The future of Bazball may be uncertain, but there is little doubt that Jacob Bethell has been its greatest product.
If ever there was an advert for the kind of fearless cricket that Brendon McCullum has promoted during his near four years as England coach, it was the sight of Bethell toying with India’s attack during a 45-ball hundred on Thursday night.
With a review of England’s performances and elite environment this winter ongoing, McCullum is understood to be safe for now and he might easily point to the remarkable progress of 22-year-old Bethell as a vindication for his retention.
Bethell, a young player plucked from county cricket with no more than a modest record two years ago, did not have a professional hundred to his name until last September, but his valiant 105 at the Wankhede Stadium meant he joined Harry Brook, Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan as England’s only centurions across international formats.
‘I always had the self-belief to be able to do it. Now that it’s done, hopefully I can add to the tally in all three formats,’ Bethell said, following England’s seven-run semi-final loss at the Twenty20 World Cup.
‘Me and Brooky were joking between us about which of us was going to be the first to get all three.
‘He was like “you’re batting at three so it’s got to be you”, and then took my spot at three and did it (against Pakistan) before I managed to do it at four.
‘Both of us can sit back and be very proud of ourselves but at the end of the day his came in a winning cause and mine in a losing cause.’
The same was true of Warwickshire left-hander Bethell’s Ashes hundred in Sydney in January.
‘Cricket is a cruel game, personal performances don’t always solidify into team performances,’ he continued.
‘Both of those are tough pills to swallow but I’m very proud of the way I went about both knocks.’
Faced with what would have represented a record England chase of 254 for victory against the reigning champions and tournament co-hosts, Bethell had the terms of his innings dictated to him from ball one.
But his taking down of mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, one of India’s two gun bowlers along with Jasprit Bumrah, was something he’d been planning in the build-up to the match.
Each of Varun’s first three deliveries were deposited for six, and Bethell claimed: ‘I was going to do that anyway no matter even if we were batting first. I probably wouldn’t have done it as quickly if we were chasing slightly less but I put him on the back foot straight away. As soon as he’s defending, that’s when you’re winning.’
Varun’s final analysis was 4-0-64-1 and no Indian spinner has ever conceded more in a T20 international on home soil.
Bethell’s composure also stood out: refusing to be rushed, he would step away from the crease and pause between deliveries during a surge to a 19-ball 50.
‘Some guys like to keep going and face the next ball as quick as possible but I like two to five seconds of clarity, give myself a smack on the pad,’ he explained.
‘Just think. Or especially if you run a couple of twos, get your breath back and make sure that you’re on as much as you were before.’
Bethell is one of the England players that is returning here for the Indian Premier League later this month.
His plan before that is to spend some time with his family in Barbados, but with the England squad’s return home being held up by the flight chaos triggered by the crisis in the Middle East, that window is narrowing.
Plans were being drawn up on Friday to charter a plane this weekend to fly to London, alongside the players of West Indies and South Africa – both still here after their respective eliminations with routes through the Gulf closed.
