Jacob Bethell waited a while for this. On the fourth evening in Sydney he walked off unbeaten on 142, his first Test – and first-class – century, and England were still alive heading into the final day of the Ashes finale. Not much fuss, just a nod of the helmet, a brief smile, and a straight-bat answer to the inevitable question about last year’s Indian Premier League.
“I wouldn’t say I gave it away at the IPL,” he told Fox Cricket. “That experience I had over there was unbelievable… I came back a better cricketer.”
The 22-year-old left-hander had emerged unexpectedly on England’s tour of New Zealand in late 2024. Three half-centuries at No. 3 suggested he was more than a stop-gap for the absent Jamie Smith (paternity leave) and Jordan Cox (thumb). Yet the position slipped from his grasp when Ollie Pope piled on 171 against Zimbabwe while Bethell was tied up with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Pope then made 108 in the first Test against India at Headingley; Bethell, reduced to drinks duty, looked scratchy when a Stokes injury opened the door for him at The Oval.
Form is fickle. Pope’s tailed off, and by the Boxing Day Test at the MCG England had run out of patience. Bethell returned, top-scoring with 40 in a chase that levelled the series at one-all. Sydney was the real statement: uncomplicated drives, calm footwork, and just the occasional flourish against a tiring attack.
He remains adamant the IPL stint was the right call. “I came back a better cricketer,” he repeated, pointing out the quality of training and the confidence that comes from sharing dressing-rooms with Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis. The ECB-BCCI agreement that freed England players for the entire tournament had sparked debate, some arguing it would compromise Test opportunities. Bethell sees it differently. “I had that on my radar and just was waiting for the opportunity to make sure I was ready.”
The opportunity finally arrived after Pope’s tally slumped to 125 runs in six Ashes innings. Bethell’s own preparation, he admits, looked odd on paper – six weeks on tour without a competitive innings. In reality it became, in his words, “a blessing”. Hours of net work, a knock for the Lions against Australia A, and, crucially, the chance to clear the head.
“I was pretty happy with how I went in New Zealand. I knew that I was coming in two places away: there was Jamie Smith, who was not present on the tour, and then Coxy was the back-up batter that got injured,” he said. “I knew that it’d be a tough decision to bring me back in place of someone else.”
He is honest about missing out last summer. “I had a little opportunity again through injury in the summer against India, and didn’t take it, so it’s nice to score some runs now.”
Inside the dressing-room the talk, we’re told, is still of leaving Australia with the series 3-2. That remains improbable; England need to bat deep on the fifth morning and then find 10 wickets on a surface still playing well. Bethell, though, has given them something tangible.
Coach Brendon McCullum, never one for long lectures, summed it up quietly: “He’s a good player who backs himself. That’s what we ask.”
Few technical notes. Bethell’s trigger-movement is smaller than it was 12 months ago; he holds his shape longer and lets the ball come to him. Those subtle tweaks are the difference between pretty 30s and a match-shaping hundred. Nothing radical, just polish.
Where next? Assuming Pope regains fitness, England suddenly have three claimants for two middle-order spots once Smith also returns. It could be awkward later in the year; it is, however, the sort of headache selectors prefer.
For now, Bethell has a night to enjoy. A Test century at the SCG is no small thing, even if he shrugs off the fanfare. If England manage to square the Ashes, this innings will feel pivotal. If they don’t, it still marks the start of something. Either way, the IPL decision no longer needs defending – the bat has taken care of that.
