Jacob Bethell evoked memories of David Gower with his stylish, yet composed, maiden Test century at No 3 for England in the fifth Ashes Test in Sydney, according to Sky Sports’ Nasser Hussain.
Bethell hit a sublime, unbeaten 142 on day four at the Sydney Cricket Ground to see England lead by 119 runs with two second-innings wickets remaining and give faint hope to a series-ending victory.
Sir Alastair Cook hailed Bethell as “the future of England cricket” on TNT Sports, while Stuart Broad called the supremely-talented 22-year-old “a diamond” on Australian broadcaster Channel 7.
“This is where he came of age,” Hussain said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. “It was the innings of a proper No 3.
“It was calm, it was composed, technically sound. The composure for a 22-year-old was just exceptional
“For such a good player, Ollie Pope at No 3 often loses balance and jabs at the ball. With Bethell today, he was more solid than I’ve seen Pope be the whole series really.”
Hussain added: “The biggest compliment I can give him was it was the sort of innings you’d expect David Gower to play.
“Bowl him a good ball, he’ll defend it; bowl him a bad ball, and he’ll put it away.”
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Nasser Hussain believes England will regret not starting the series with Jacob Bethell.
Bethell on maiden Test ton – ‘I knew it was coming’
Bethell has long been touted as a talent for the future but was a surprise selection when fast-tracked into the Test team on last year’s winter tour of New Zealand, having yet to score a century in any format and having never previously batted at No 3 in red-ball cricket.
With a top score of 93 to his name in county cricket, Bethell topped that with 96 to show great promise in just his second Test in Wellington, while a first hundred as a professional followed in an ODI against South Africa in the summer.
A maiden first-class ton still had to be ticked off the list, not that the man himself was at all concerned.
“I knew it was coming,” Bethell told reporters after the fourth day’s play in Sydney. “It’s just nice to get over that milestone. It still hasn’t sunk in.
“That will give me the world of confidence to keep doing it, especially as people will now stop talking about it!
“I got a [ODI] hundred in the summer and I’ve had to wait a while to raise the bat again, but it’s an addictive feeling. It’s pretty special.”
Despite Bethell’s confident demeanour, he did have to endure a bit of a wait to reach those magical three figures as he got stuck for about a 20-minute spell in the ‘nervous nineties’.
“I felt okay, to be honest.” Bethell told TNT Sports. “I was a little bit nervous, but nowhere near as nervous as when [scoring 96] in New Zealand, where I forgot to watch the ball and got out.
“I was just focusing on what I did throughout the innings, watching the ball and playing it.
“Cricket is weird. When they bring the field up and you are on 99, you are like, ‘woah, what is the difference in one run?’ A massive difference.
“It was nice to get over the line.”
And Bethell ultimately got over the line in some style too, skipping down the pitch to a Beau Webster off-spin delivery and smashing four out to deep midwicket, with his mum and dad visibly emotional watching on from the stands.
“It was such a lovely moment, because he took some time to work his way through the 90s – looking composed, as he did all day,” Hussain added.
“His first Test hundred, and obviously his first Ashes hundred, with his mum and dad here at the SCG – one of the great cricket grounds in the world.
“His mum had a big, beaming smile on her face, and his dad was just trying to hold back the tears. It was an emotional moment and just so special.”
‘Masterclass’, ‘Flawless’ – what cricket made of Bethell’s ‘coming of age’
Sir Alastair Cook on TNT Sports:
“It was a coming of age, really.
“We must give the selectors some credit now. They backed him, they’ve seen something and they haven’t seen it through domestic form.
“They’ve seen it in and around the group, a bit in franchise cricket and quite rightly he had to wait for his chance in this series.
‘The future of England cricket’ – Jacob Bethell hit a magnificent maiden Test century on day four of the fifth Ashes Test
“But, my word, has he taken his chance. He has just shown us the future of England cricket after Joe Root, because that knock of 142 was of the highest quality.”
Ricky Ponting on Australian broadcaster Channel 7:
“What a knock we’ve just witnessed, it’s been flawless.
“It’s been so classy. Some of his stroke play has been as good as we’ve seen from anyone.”
Michael Vaughan on Test Match Special:
“What we’ve witnessed today is something very special.
“That was a technical masterclass, a masterclass in composure, calmness and to think he came out in the first over with England 180 behind, facing Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland on what was a tricky pitch.
“We’ve seen a batting masterclass from someone that lets the ball come and caresses the ball.
“It was a throwback. Harry Brook is a lovely player, but give me a Jacob Bethell or a Joe Root any day in Test match cricket.”
More from Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast:
“England will regret that the two lads who have played really well here, [Josh] Tongue with the ball and Bethell with the bat, that they didn’t start the series.
“Bethell is a sort of tick for England, but it’s also a negative for the England hierarchy. They did spot him very early and brought him on the tour of New Zealand [last year].
“He got runs, a 96 [in the second Test] where he looked good, but since he hasn’t been playing.
“He himself admitted to me on interview that he’s not played enough cricket and he got out of form. He looked frenetic against India [at The Oval this summer], batting in the middle order, because he hadn’t been playing.
“Today, because he played in the last game and now here, he looked really composed.
“It’s a message to the England side: the only way players reach their high ceiling is by playing, and not enough of their cricketers play enough.”
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