Jacob Bethell will be England’s youngest international men’s cricket captain after 21-year-old Bethell was appointed Friday as skipper for next month’s T20 international series in Ireland. The Warwickshire all-rounder is one of the emerging stars of the English game despite still not having scored his first professional century in any form. Bethell, however, has still been entrusted to captain England in a three-match T20 series against Ireland in Dublin, which will be part of the team’s preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Record-Breaking Young Captain
If everything goes as planned, he will be England’s youngest ever men’s captain in an international game, usurping the record of Monty Bowden, who was 23 years and 144 days old when England played a Test against South Africa at Cape Town in the 1888/89 season.
Bethell has only played in four Test matches but has become a white-ball stalwart with 13 Twenty20 games and 12 one-day internationals under his belt since debuting in the T20 in September of last year.
“Jacob Bethell has impressed with his leadership qualities ever since he has been with the England squads and the series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage,” said England selector Luke Wright.
Mixed Test Experience Against India
Bethell’s last sight overseas was in the fifth and final Test against India at the Oval last month when, standing in for injured red-ball skipper Ben Stokes, he scored six and five, and took no wicket with his left-arm spin.
England were beaten by six runs in a nail-biting match as India drew an engrossing five-Test series 2-2.
Michael Vaughan’s Criticism of Selection
But former England captain Michael Vaughan said team management had made a “diabolical” decision to call-up Bethell for such a key match on the back of so little first-class cricket this season.
“Jacob Bethell, this summer has faced 67 balls in red-ball cricket, he scored 32 runs,” said Vaughan on the Stick to Cricket podcast.
He added: “Surely, if you are trying to develop a young cricketer, you’ve got to give him time to go there and play cricket. So if it does come that he has to play, at least he has had a bit of game time.
“To throw a kid who’s 21 out at the Oval in front of 27,000 when the series is on the line on a pitch that is doing plenty against (Mohammed) Siraj. I thought it was diabolical. I thought it was unfair on the player.”
