Jacob Bethell, the 21-year-old Barbados-born all-rounder, will make his Test debut for England in Christchurch and is slated to bat at No 3.
Although the selection has been forced by an injury to Jordan Cox – with Ollie Pope to keep wicket in the first Test against New Zealand – it still represents England’s boldest pick under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Bethell, a stylish left-hander who plays for Warwickshire, is yet to score a century at first-class level and will be the first batter to make his England debut without doing so since Mike Gatting in 1978.
Bethell moved to England on a scholarship at Rugby School aged 14 and is considered a generational talent. He has already made international debuts in one-day and Twenty20 cricket this year and was recently signed on a £246,000 deal to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the next edition of the Indian Premier League. This first Test cap, announced as England trained at Hagley Oval two days before the series opener, which starts on Wednesday evening UK time, completes the set.
Coming in at first drop is a huge ask for such an inexperienced cricketer who has never batted there for Warwickshire in the County Championship but, with Pope saddled with the burden of keeping, needs must. That said, it is not as if Joe Root could not have moved up one slot given his previous experience there.
Pope’s switch in roles follows Cox’s cruel injury in Queenstown on Sunday, having initially been down to deputise for Jamie Smith (paternity leave) only to then sustain a fractured thumb in the nets. Ollie Robinson, the Durham wicketkeeper, is expected to fly to New Zealand but was not officially on standby and has been in the process of getting his passport renewed.
Robinson is yet to be officially called up but should arrive in time for the second Test in Wellington once the paperwork is sorted. Pope is a competent gloveman, the vice-captain having performed the role in three Tests to date and kept wicket throughout his rise up the Surrey pathway.
England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (c), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir
Barring any further injuries, the England team is otherwise as expected, with a seam attack of Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and Brydon Carse set to be complemented by the spin of Shoaib Bashir. Stokes, who returned from a hamstring tear during the 2-1 defeat in Pakistan, has been bowling in training on tour and is expected to fulfil his usual all-rounder role.
New Zealand are yet to name their team but all signs point towards a return for Kane Williamson after missing their historic 3-0 win in India this month. Will Young could well be the batter to make way despite being named player of the series on that tour.
