England pulled a major surprise by picking Jacob Bethell to bat No 3 on his Test debut in Christchurch this week as they reshuffled their batting order following the injury to wicketkeeper Jordan Cox.
Bethell has only twice batted as high as No 4 for Warwickshire in championship cricket but England have gambled on him batting at three against New Zealand in the first Test, starting on Thursday, instead of taking the option of pushing Joe Root, their highest-ever Test run-scorer, up one spot in the order.
Bethell replaces Ollie Pope who drops down to No 6 to give him a breather after keeping wicket in place of Cox, whose tour was ended by a broken right thumb in England’s only warm-up match over the weekend.
England confirmed their XI for the first Test before training on Tuesday morning in Christchurch, with Bethell given a round of applause in the huddle.
Bethell made a flying start to his England career in the recent white ball series in the Caribbean, scoring four fifties. But he only averages 25.44 in first-class cricket with a top score of 93.
Root batted at No 3 in an emergency in Multan and scored a career-best 262 putting on a record-breaking 454 stand with Harry Brook. But he has never enjoyed batting at three and he only did it in Multan because Ben Duckett was injured during the match, and everyone moved up a place in the order.
This time, England have decided to let Root stay at his preferred position and press Bethell into an emergency role. It should not come as a surprise that coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes are willing to gamble on a 21-year-old in such a pivotal role in the batting order.
It is a big challenge for Bethell to face a confident New Zealand side fresh from a 3-0 win in India and preparing to play on a green pitch in Christchurch.
It does relieve the pressure on Pope, who is under scrutiny for his place in the side after an inconsistent year. But if Bethell does well and makes a big score it will give England a selection headache. Durham’s Ollie Robinson is expected to arrive later this week to replace Cox in the squad and will come into contention for selection in Wellington next week.
England confirmed their attack with Gus Atkinson, Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse the seam attack along with Stokes. Shoaib Bashir is the sole spinner.
England XI for first Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wicketkeeper), Ben Stokes (captain), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.
Why England have left it too late to drop Ollie Pope
Ollie Pope begins another series with his position under scrutiny and will almost certainly have to cope with the added burden of being England’s emergency wicketkeeper.
Pope has enough on his plate at No 3 and vice-captain without having to keep wicket for the first time in red-ball cricket since the Multan Test in 2022 because of Jordan Cox’s injury.
It may only be one game with Ollie Robinson soon to be on his way to New Zealand as a late call up but it is a headache Pope could do without after averaging 11 in Pakistan and with just one series left this year to find some consistency.
The reality is that despite supporters’ angst about Pope’s performances, and there is a sizeable body of work to judge him on now, he remains integral to the team. Brendon McCullum described him as a “huge player for us” as England flew into Christchurch for Thursday’s first Test. Insiders believe it is too late to bring another fresh batsman in at first drop with India and Australia looming next year. They are essentially keeping fingers crossed that Pope clicks.
In Queenstown at the weekend he had a scratchy start in the first innings against a Prime Minister’s XI with inside and outside edges in his first 10 runs and a blow to the helmet. He recovered his poise and found some fluidity making 42 but this was against an attack with only eight first-class appearances between them in conditions that will not be too dissimilar from Christchurch, with plenty of life in the surface on day one.
Now he prepares to play a New Zealand side buzzing from its 3-0 win in India and with a reborn seam attack eyeing the green surface at Hagley Oval. Matt Henry has taken 33 wickets this year, more than any England seamer bar Gus Atkinson, and 23-year-old William O’Rouke has made a big impact in his first seven Tests, with 26 wickets at 19. Born in the UK when his parents were working in London, O’Rourke moved back to New Zealand aged five and is playing on his home ground this week. He is 6ft 4in and compared with Steve Harmison in style, bowling into the ribs and shaping the ball into right handers.
The problem with Pope is his frantic starts which he will probably never overcome after 52 Tests. There was a damning statistic last summer that showed he was the worst starter of any specialist English batsman in Test history – dismissed within 20 balls in 38 per cent of his Test innings – more than anyone who had 35 innings or more in the top six. Sweeping the spinners hard early or pushing forcefully at the seamers at the start of innings have often been to blame and demonstrates the edginess within when he goes out to bat.
If Jacob Bethell plays this week there is an opportunity for a younger batsman to put pressure on Pope. And if Robinson shapes up well in New Zealand too, it then opens the door for Jamie Smith to play solely as a batsman in the future, which would make the most of his undoubted potential higher up the order.
But McCullum is a gambler and has put his money on Pope at three. Perhaps if he named one of his racehorses Ollie it would have a fortifying effect. A gelding he owns and bred named Stokes finished third at Riccarton Park in Canterbury last week with Ben watching on. “I phoned Stokesy and said: ‘I’ve got this big chestnut, this big strong thing with a pale face and dodgy legs, any chance I could name him after you.’ That horse has got a big heart too so I thought it was a perfect name,” said McCullum.
What would a horse need to remind the coach of Pope? Maybe a jelly-legged starter that comes up on the inside if it stays in touch with the pack.
McCullum thinks the pitches in New Zealand will suit Pope, being similar to the Oval in that they are green and lively on day one with good carry and bounce but flatten out. Quick outfields too bring reward but only if Pope, and the others, can see off the new ball with some sensible application.
“We’ve just got to keep giving him the confidence to go out there and know when he gets in he can play match-winning innings,” said McCullum. “He’s also a leader within the group. It’s been a big year for Popey. He took on the captaincy with the skipper not being available for a period. We think over time that whole experience is going to make him a better player. And he’s still a huge player for us.
“Even Ricky Ponting was susceptible in his first 20-30 balls and once he got going he’d climb into you. I’m not saying Ollie Pope is Ricky Ponting but it’s not an easy place to bat and the higher up the order you are the more susceptible you are because the ball’s obviously doing more which is challenging. He’ll be fine. He’s a good player and he’s done some good stuff for us and that’ll give him confidence. I think he’ll appreciate conditions here as much as they change. But if he does get in, these grounds with the extra bounce should suit his style.”
If he keeps wicket, England will have to be adaptable where Pope is concerned. If they bat first there is no reason why he cannot stay at three but if they go in after a long stint in the field it will need managing. Pope will say he can handle it but England have to be sensible, let him rest after keeping and push Joe Root up one spot, after all he scored a career best 262 and a record breaking 454 with Harry Brook filling in there at Multan.
England play New Zealand so often – this is their fourth series here in seven years – and Pope is on his third tour, so he is well versed in conditions. For most players a hundred in the first Test is a huge boost. For Pope, it will just raise the same old question – can he sustain it?
