The prospect of omitting Jacob Bethell from next month’s first Test against India was already looking awkward for England’s selectors. After his scintillating 82 from 53 balls in the first one-day international against West Indies, it felt downright perverse.
Almost exactly a decade since the white-ball reset under Eoin Morgan began with a total of 400-plus and a crushing win at Edgbaston, the reign of Harry Brook got going in almost identical fashion, with Bethell central to an all-round effort that included half-centuries for Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Brook himself. It added up to a 238-run triumph, by 52 their biggest against West Indies.
Amid the satisfaction and relief at ending a run of seven ODI defeats, Bethell’s brilliance confirmed the tangle England have got themselves into by allowing him to stay at the IPL, rather than insist on his return for last week’s Trent Bridge Test against Zimbabwe. In his absence, Ollie Pope apparently made himself undroppable by scoring 171.
And while success in one format does not guarantee it in another, the class of Bethell’s innings — careful at first, then casually dismissive — recalled his debut Test series in New Zealand before Christmas.
As he crashed 63 off his last 27 balls, it was hard to avoid a suspicion: if England don’t pick him at No 3 against India, they will be delaying the inevitable. With the Ashes round the corner, it is a luxury they can scarcely afford.
The situation has been complicated by Ben Stokes’s praise for Pope after Trent Bridge, and his insistence that when he said Bethell would return to the Test team, he meant to the squad, not necessarily the playing XI.
Jacob Bethell gets funky in his brilliant knock of 82 from 53 balls in the first ODI at Edgbaston
The left-hander paced his innings perfectly, starting cautiously before unleashing his power
Harry Brook takes a record-equaling fifth catch on a dream day for England’s new captain
Whether Stokes feels quite so definitive now is another matter. Neither will Bethell’s chances have been hurt by the fact that Brendon McCullum — now head coach in all formats — had a ringside seat, nor that he took a wicket with his left-arm spin.
‘We were well on top when I walked out,’ said Bethell modestly. ‘When I’m in, I can hit a lot of balls to the boundary, so I’m not too fussed about taking a few balls at the start.’
As for the IPL, he had only praise, despite playing only twice for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. ‘I learned a lot,’ he said. ‘I found that experience very beneficial. I feel a better player than I was two months ago.’ That, at least, was music to the selectors’ ears.
West Indies, in fairness, were a good fit for English hopes of rejuvenation, having arrived on the back of an underwhelming 1-1 draw in Ireland. Even so, Brook and McCullum will be thrilled to have hit the ground not so much running as sprinting.
‘It’s a new era,’ said a grinning Brook. ‘We’re trying to forget about the past.’ As for the future, thoughts turned inevitably to Bethell: ‘He’s going to have a very long England career if he keeps on batting the way he does. He can bowl, he can field. To have a player like that in our side who is only 21…’
After England were put in, the early skirmishes included a powerful 24-ball 37 for Jamie Smith in his first innings as opener, a 10-over powerplay score of 90 for one, and a 34-ball half-century for Duckett, who is in the form of his life.
Root eased to 50, before edging a drive off Jayden Seales, while Brook hit Justin Greaves over mid-off, then scooped his next ball over fine leg for six more, only to carve Seales to deep point. When Jos Buttler – back in the ranks for the first time since his resignation – fell for 37 and Will Jacks for a murderous 39, England seemed determined to do it in cameos.
All the while, Bethell took stock, nurdling 19 from his first 26 balls. Then he took West Indies down, swinging left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie over midwicket for six, pulling Alzarri Joseph for six more, then clubbing Matthew Forde over long-on. As the bowling disintegrated, he pulled Joseph for his fourth six and plonked Seales down the ground for his fifth.
Jamie Smith was promoted to open and showed signs he is suited to the role with 37 off 24
A first senior hundred beckoned, but he lost the strike, then edged a slash at Seales, pausing only to acknowledge the applause of a full house. England’s total was, by 39, the biggest in an ODI not to include a century.
West Indies’ pursuit of 401 was a shambles, after Saqib Mahmood struck three times in his first six overs, including the prize wicket of Shai Hope, brilliantly caught one-handed by Brydon Carse as he backpedalled at square leg.
That was part of a superb fielding display in which Brook moved his men around cleverly and held five catches – equalling South African Jonty Rhodes’s ODI record for an outfielder. Jamie Overton picked up three wickets after briefly leaving the field with an injured finger, and it said everything about the tourists’ haplessness that Seales top-scored from No 11.
