Barbados-born Jacob Bethell says West Indies clash will be ‘just another game’
The 22-year-old is attaching no sentimentality to Wednesday’s T20 World Cup match in Mumbai.
Barbados-born Jacob Bethell views his first World Cup meeting against the West Indies as just an opportunity to boost England’s hopes of reaching the next stage.
Raised on the island until leaving for the UK aged 12 on a cricket scholarship, Bethell admitted he was a little apprehensive about being booed on his return to the Caribbean with England in late 2024.
Instead, dozens of his friends and family turned up to cheer him on at Barbados’ Kensington Oval in a memorable homecoming, but he is attaching no sentimentality to Wednesday’s T20 in Mumbai.
He said: “It’s just another game to be honest. When I played them in Barbados, it was pretty cool. But we’re looking to get two more points. That’s all.”
England started their Group C campaign by edging out Associate nation Nepal by four runs in a last-ball thriller at the Wankhede Stadium, where Bethell top-scored with 55 in his maiden World Cup knock.
Bethell said: “I probably wouldn’t have wanted it to be as close as it was, but this tournament is my first World Cup, and watching previous World Cups you want to get those little tricky games.
“I think it’s going to be good for us, we take the two points and run. It’s not going to do us any harm to go through that.”
Bethell admitted he is still adjusting to batting at three in T20s, having all but stamped his role there in the Test side with a stunning 154 at the end of England’s miserable Ashes series in Sydney last month.
The 22-year-old left-hander made just one fifty-plus score in the ODI and T20 tour of Sri Lanka that followed but he added more proof he excels on the biggest of stages with a fine knock against Nepal.
He said: “I’m just pleased with what I did in the Ashes. Since then I actually probably would have liked to get a little bit more out of myself.
“The role at three, I haven’t probably done as well in it as I would have liked up to this point, but I feel like I’m getting to grips with it now.
“Hopefully when I do get in and get past 50, I can go big and really stamp my authority on the game.”
England’s white-ball captain Harry Brook joined Bethell in going past 50 on Sunday. The pair are under investigation by the Cricket Regulator for their night out in Wellington on Halloween that ended with Brook being punched by a bouncer, hours before he captained England against New Zealand.
The probe means Bethell cannot go into details about the incident, but he was effusive about Brook’s leadership after the Yorkshireman presided over an 11th win in England’s last 12 completed T20s.
Bethell added: “All the boys love him. Watching him bat is just great and batting with him is even better. The stuff he can do on the field with the bat in hand is incredible.
“His decisions on the field in terms of (using) bowlers, leadership, all that kind of stuff has been unbelievable as well. I think all the boys are really enjoying him as skipper.”
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