We have seen the future of English cricket. But why did it take so long?

1 day ago 2

This England team’s most memorable brain explosions have occurred under the pressure of the contest. Equally impressive have been those that took place in the calm of meeting rooms and phone calls.

The lack of match preparation and casual arrogance of the planning have been well documented, but Jacob Bethell has shown in Melbourne and Sydney that his non-selection in the first three Test matches is another element in this dumbest Ashes tour.

The relentlessness of Australian bowling and supposed hostility of the Australian people can’t take the blame. This was an error entirely of England’s making.

How could Ollie Pope have been thought a better Test No.3 than Bethell?

With his chanceless century in Sydney, Bethell rubber-stamped the quality he had shown in Melbourne and in his previous Test appearances in New Zealand. Oddly, for a tour so distinguished by recklessness, it was over-conservatism that had held Bethell back. Pope sealed his position, ahead of Bethell, during 2025 with a century against … Zimbabwe.

Pope’s greater experience was thought to counterbalance Bethell’s obviously superior technique and ability.

Jacob Bethell celebrates his maiden Test ton.

Another contradiction is that it took a 22-year-old in just his 28th first-class match to show his colleagues how to bat with maturity and intelligence.

Brendon McCullum has used the buzzwords of England needing to focus on the “top two inches”, as if the brain was as difficult to locate as the off stump. Guess what: it was right there all along, hiding under a mop of frosty tips.

While Zak Crawley, Harry Brook and Jamie Smith burnished their records during England’s second innings as some of the most witless batsmen to represent their country on the Sydney Cricket Ground, Bethell was all balance and orthodoxy, poise and concentration.

He looks like the complete Test batsman, but they all have from time to time. The difference with Bethell was that he never shouldered arms to a straight delivery, never decided to run down the wicket before the ball was bowled, never tried the pickleball repertoire that characterised his team’s batting on this tour and, when Smith attempted an insanely optimistic single, it was Bethell who assessed the situation and said no.

Jacob Bethell looks the complete Test batsman.

The qualifications around this excellent innings are that the Ashes were not at stake and the SCG pitch has fulfilled Cricket Australia’s hopes for a five-day match. The Australian attack was beginning to show its age. England were batting from well behind in the match. But even with all that said, Bethell showed that his Noosa dance moves were a disguise for a composed old head.

While England’s batting has typically been one step from self-destruction, Bethell was notable for what he didn’t do. He just waited for the bad balls to hit, defended the good ones and took singles to rotate the strike when he could. Unusually for players from both sides in this oddball summer, he made batting look uncomplicated and old-fashioned.

England were not just playing for pride or respectability; a result remains on offer and Bethell’s sustained stay at the wicket kept England’s slender hopes alive.

As previously in this series, whenever Australia’s nerve ends began to tremble, throughout Wednesday’s play England generally calmed them down again with a mistake. Brook’s and Smith’s lapses were a fitting end to their 2025-26 expeditions, Joe Root was out by the narrowest margin and Ben Stokes was undone by injury. Meanwhile, the 22-year-old played out the day, earning an ovation from teammates who might have been clapping away their own sheepishness.

It bodes well for the competitiveness of the next Ashes. In past eras, England have built success out of the wreckage of failed trips to Australia. For 2027, they have young batsmen they can build totals around, and if Bethell’s Sydney performance is an example, they might take the hint that they don’t have to reinvent the wheel.

The next meeting is a long way away, but Australia, who got so excited 12 months ago about one magical hour from Sam Konstas, were left wondering what they would give for a 22-year-old capable of the six hours Bethell has delivered here.