I was impressed – Sir Alastair Cook backs Jacob Bethell to keep England spot

Jacob Bethell has already shown the composure needed to cement a long-term spot in England’s Test top order, according to former captain Sir Alastair Cook.

After wicketkeeper Jordan Cox broke his thumb ahead of the series opener against New Zealand in Christchurch, 21-year-old Bethell was drafted in for an unplanned Test debut with Ollie Pope deputising behind the stumps.

Having made 10 in the first innings, Bethell crafted an unbeaten 50 from just 37 balls to help Ben Stokes’ side close out an impressive eight-wicket victory at Hagley Oval.

England have opted to name an unchanged XI in Wellington, with Pope set to retain the gloves for the second Test on Thursday.

Bethell had never batted at three in a brief first-class career comprising just 20 matches, with a modest average of 25.44 and has never scored a professional century.

Nevertheless, in a move to tie up his long-term future, Bethell has also seen his low-key developmental deal upgraded to a two-year central contract by the England and Wales Cricket Board.

Cook scored 12,472 runs, with 33 centuries, from 161 Tests, captaining the team in 59 matches. His long-standing leading run record was surpassed by Joe Root during the series in Pakistan in October.

Former Essex batter Cook, who retired from playing at the end of the 2023 domestic season, feels Bethell has already shown he does have the temperament needed to make the number-three spot his own.

“I was impressed. It was an encouraging start,” TNT Sports’ cricket expert Cook said.

“I particularly liked how he gutsed it out in the first innings and in the second innings, we kind of (saw) that was why he was picked for the white ball (team), with his array of shots.

“I liked his composure under some seriously good bowling. There is a huge amount of growth there, without a doubt.

“He is nowhere near the finished article. We keep going back to the fact he hasn’t scored hundreds in professional cricket, which I think is only a matter of time.

“But it is important that we kind of understand where we are with him. He has been thrown into this situation because of the bit of bad luck for Jordan Cox.

“England probably wanted to see him in red ball training before they played, but he has been given a chance and it is all about taking the chance when you get thrown in there.

“If you take that first (T20) game he played (in September) against Australia out, he has looked at home in international cricket straight away.

“He plays the situation in front of him and is not overawed by what is going on, so then immediately you are looking at a guy and going ‘well, he has got a real good chance of making this for a long time’.”

Cook feels Barbados-born left-hander Bethell can lay down another marker with a strong performance in the second Test against the Black Caps.

“Ben Stokes has said that when Jamie Smith comes back, he will take the gloves and so Ollie Pope will go back up to three – but if Jacob scores 100 in the next couple of games, it changes that,” Cook said.

“If you have got possession of the shirt, it is all in your hands really.

“It is down to him, and if he delivers for him, personally that is brilliant obviously, but more importantly, if he delivers for England, then it is very hard to leave out a guy who scores runs.”

:: Watch every ball of the rest of the New Zealand vs England Test series, live on TNT Sports and discovery+ from 9.30pm on Thursday December 5.