As Jacob Bethell leant back to ease Nandre Burger through the covers, it was hard to believe he had just completed his first professional hundred. On the one hand, it had taken him 76 balls; on the other, 141 innings. Either way, the implications could be seismic.
With England already 2–0 down in this three-match series, events in Southampton might have vanished under the radar. Instead, they pulled off the biggest win in ODI history, by 342 runs, and Bethell not only nailed down the No 4 spot in the 50-over side, but confirmed why England are considering him at No 3 in the first Ashes Test at Perth in November.
Different formats, it’s true, but that will not trouble the management. They blundered by failing to get Bethell involved in the Test series against India before the fifth and final match, by which time he had been rendered impotent by inaction, and they are unlikely to repeat the error.
On a day when England racked up 414 for five, a total that included an almost unnoticed 95-ball hundred from Joe Root and a murderous unbeaten 62 from 32 balls by Jos Buttler, Bethell even allowed thoughts of a brighter one-day future – and that has been beyond most of his team-mates over the past few years.
Only one England batsman has scored a hundred at a younger age: in 1978, David Gower was 21 years 55 days when he made 114 not out against Pakistan in a one-dayer, 256 days older than Bethell here. England’s hope is that the comparison extends beyond their mutual blondness, left-handedness and elegance. If it does, their fans are in for some fun.
At this point, custom dictates that we air the caveats. South Africa had already won the series, and England remain a dismal eighth in the rankings, encouraging fanciful talk that they may struggle to qualify automatically for the 2027 World Cup. They have not won a series against a higher-placed team for two years.
Jacob Bethell hit his maiden hundred as England secured victory against South Africa
Joe Root registered a 95-ball hundred as he helped England on their way to an impressive win
Jofa Archer celebrates after he managed to take the wicket of South Africa’s Ryan Rickelton
Last month, equally, South Africa went two up in an ODI series in Australia, then conceded 431 for two, so their form in dead rubbers could do with some work. And if Burger hadn’t dropped Bethell at mid-on when he had 44, where would we all be now?
But you’d need a heart of stone not to be impressed by Bethell’s strokeplay, which in all brought him 110 off just 80 balls, with 13 fours and three sixes – just as it would have been wrong to downplay the significance of a lethal spell of fast bowling from Jofra Archer, who at one stage had figures of 5–3–5–4 as South Africa nosedived to 24 for six.
They eventually got to 72, with three late wickets for Adil Rashid, and their captain Temba Bavuma unable to bat after suffering a calf strain in the field.
This, though, was all about Bethell, who told Sky Sports he regretted not playing ‘a bit more’ for Warwickshire during his time out of the Test team, but will next week lead his country in a three-match T20 series against Ireland in Dublin, where he will become England’s youngest captain. Having been pilloried by his double failure in the Oval Test against India, he now looks what he was during last winter’s series in New Zealand: a good bet for years to come.
England now have nine T20s – three each against South Africa, Ireland and New Zealand – before their next ODI, which seems like a pity in the circumstances. But their performance here will encourage Brendon McCullum to believe that he didn’t make the wrong decision by uniting the red- and white-ball jobs.
Jamie Smith made his third half-century in four innings at the top of the order, even if he was gifted a life on 23 by Matthew Breetzke’s dreadful drop at cover, while Buttler’s post-captaincy rejuvenation shows no sign of slowing. Since stepping down, he has averaged 54 in nine white-ball innings with a strike-rate of 140.
England’s Adil Rashid took three late wickets during an engaging encounter
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma was unable to bat after suffering a calf strain in the field
Despite England’s victory in the final ODI, South Africa were crowned winners of the series
Root, meanwhile, moved past 1,000 international runs for the summer with his fifth century, and 19th in ODIs – six more than the next-best for England. This one contained just six fours and 50 singles, another masterpiece in accumulation.
As Bethell took the next step in his career, it was a reminder that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
