Why Jacob Bethell was England’s best and worst selection decision of the Ashes

Bethell ended his Ashes on a high with a sublime century on day four of the final Test to give a tantalising glimpse of a bright future

There’s always tomorrow, and Jacob Bethell will be there.

Everything, apart from the scorebook, has always looked right with Bethell. Declared a prodigy since birth, he counts Sir Garfield Sobers as a family friend, Brian Lara as an advocate, and Ian Bell as a believer. Lara saw Bethell at 11 and said he was “much better” than he had been at that age. Bell called him the best 17-year-old he had ever seen. It’s high elbows. It’s popped collars. It was quality that’s been waiting for the quantity to arrive.

Bethell is arguably England’s greatest and worst selection decision in this Ashes. A year ago, with barely a run under his belt in domestic cricket, England plucked him out of Warwickshire’s team, where he batted No 7, and stuck him in at three for the Test series against New Zealand. It’s worth remembering how left-field that call was. No one predicted it, and no one, really, believed in it.

Jacob Bethell headed off the SCG pitch after a sterling day’s work – ending on 142 not out (AP)

But England were right. Three half-centuries in three Tests, including a 96 at Wellington, proved England had found their man. This was peak McCullum-and-Stokes midas touch.

But if England have been fantastic at identifying talent, they have been less so at developing it. Because Bethell then stopped playing. An IPL deal led to him missing the Zimbabwe Test, meaning Ollie Pope, the man who had been in possession of the No 3 spot, got another chance and, against a weak attack, scored 171. Pope then followed it up with another century against India, before his returns waned.

Nevertheless, England knew they wanted Bethell. So he was kept around and warmed the bench rather than playing domestically – a decision both Bethell and England later conceded was wrong. In his innings today, he faced more balls than he did across the entirety of the 2025 season.

Bethell showed his full array of shots in a superb innings (AFP/Getty)

But because England tethered themselves to Pope, the decision to make the swap never arrived until it was too late, with Pope’s confidence scuppered in the process. He was stripped of the vice-captaincy after the summer, and England refused to confirm who would walk out at No 3 in the Ashes. They didn’t back the man they wanted, Bethell, and they didn’t back the man they didn’t want, Pope, either. It was the worst of all worlds.

From the outside, the decision didn’t seem too egregious. Bethell scored an ODI century against South Africa, but was run- and match-shy outside of that. The white-ball tour of New Zealand was considered to be a ready-made stage for Bethell to make his case with Pope absent, but in three ODIs, Bethell made 2, 18 and 11.

Before the final match of the series, a video emerged of England, including Bethell and his captain Harry Brook, out for a drink the night before a game. It wasn’t a disaster, but with only one innings left before the Ashes to make his case that he should be England’s man, a 50 per cent sleep score and a slightly foggy head didn’t reflect well on an environment doing its utmost to get the best out of a young talent. The pumping music in the background also undermined England’s briefing that the group had just stopped off for one on the way home from dinner. How dare you use my own lies against me.

Bethell found runs hard to come by in the pre-Ashes ODI series in New Zealand (Getty)

As such, this unbeaten innings of 142 on day four of the final Test was both an example of what could have been for this series, but also what will be for the future. A 360 player both in the modern sense and the traditional. To balls on off-stump, he defended cleanly; when they got too straight, he clipped, and when they were too wide, he punched. A call-and-response cricketer with an answer for everything.

Following his innings in Melbourne, where he made a match-winning 40, he wasn’t happy with his bat path, and so ahead of Sydney, he made a technical tweak, which allowed him to score more freely today. He opened his stance a touch, and it worked.

He’s 22, has hardly played a game of cricket this year, but is in full control and understanding of his own game. Brains, brawn, technique. If you can’t get giddy in moments like these, then what’s the point?

Bethell was given a huge ovation upon completing his maiden England Test century (PA Wire)

When he lifted the spin of Beau Webster over the infield for four, the moment finally arrived. He had been in the nineties for 24 balls and on 99 for seven, as Australia played the game and brought everyone in. The tension built, as the whole crowd knew what was playing out in front of them. An “I was there” moment that was one run away.

Also in the crowd were his family. As the ball ran away to the boundary, the ground erupted, and Bethell embraced his teammate Brook, then stood with his arms aloft towards his mum, dad and sister. His dad, Graham, was in tears. Why wouldn’t he be?

This is a caveat-free day for Bethell and his family. A day of joy, that is to be celebrated and nothing else. So too for England fans around the world who have a new shiny toy to be enjoyed for years to come.

But for the England management, it prompts a question of them as well as praise, because, as Bethell showed today, timing is everything.