Emerging allrounder set to add BBL debut to his England Test, ODI and T20I caps in 2024
Bethell named for 'Gades after stellar debut Test series
Rising England star Jacob Bethell is set to make his Big Bash debut after being included in Melbourne Renegades squad for their first home game of KFC BBL|14.
Bethell will be the first of an influx of England's 'Bazball' stars into the BBL over the coming days with batters Ben Duckett (Melbourne Stars) and Ollie Pope (Adelaide Strikers) set to face off at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
Bethell, taken with pick 10 in the BBL|14 Draft, will add a Renegades cap to an impressive year of debuts on Thursday night after making his first appearances in all three formats for England in the space of four months.
Renegades squad v Hurricanes: Will Sutherland (c), Jacob Bethell (England), Josh Brown, Laurie Evans (England), Jake Fraser-McGurk, Mackenzie Harvey, Fergus O'Neill, Kane Richardson, Tom Rogers, Gurinder Sandhu, Tim Seifert (New Zealand), Callum Stow, Jon Wells, Adam Zampa
The 21-year-old allrounder debuted in T20 internationals against Australia in September, taking down new Renegades teammate Adam Zampa in his second match with a 20-run over to help England to victory in Cardiff.
He then played all five matches in the ODI series that followed and was subsequently called up to the England Test squad for their recent 2-1 victory in New Zealand.
With wicketkeeper Jamie Smith on paternity leave and regular No.3 Pope filling in with the gloves, Bethell was blooded at first drop and again made an instant impact in just his second innings at Test level with an unbeaten 50 to guide England to victory.
He followed up with scores of 96 and 76 in the second and third Tests to finish as the third leading run-scorer in the series with 260 at 52.
Born and raised in Barbados until he was 12, Bethell moved to the UK after being awarded a sports scholarship at Rugby School in Warwickshire, the county he plays for in English domestic cricket.
The left-hander returned to his hometown recently last month during England's white-ball tour of the Caribbean, smashing 58 off 36 in front of family and friends in the first T20 against West Indies.
"When we picked him, he was still playing for Warwickshire, and we might have just got word he was in the T20 squad for England," Renegades coach Cameron White told cricket.com.au ahead of the season.
"Since then, he's gone T20Is, one-dayers and now into Test matches (against New Zealand) – even if you weren't watching, if that's the level the England camp think he's at, he must be a pretty exciting all-round talent with bat, ball and he's one of the best fielders in the world."
White indicated Bethell would likely bat at No.4 for the Renegades, the same position he did for England in the ODI and T20 formats during their Caribbean tour.
Following Bethell's inclusion, the Renegades' overseas replacement player Hassan Khan drops out of their 14-player squad for the clash with Hobart Hurricanes in Geelong.
West Indies one-day captain Shai Hope and Afghanistan spinner Waqar Salamkheil are also in line for Big Bash debuts on Thursday after being named in the Hurricanes' 14-player squad.
Hope was taken with pick five in September's draft while Salamkheil was signed as a replacement when Rishad Hossain withdrew from the tournament due to a clash with his Bangladesh Premier League commitments.
Hurricanes squad v Renegades: Nathan Ellis (c), Marcus Bean, Nikhil Chaudhary, Tim David, Peter Hatzoglou, Shai Hope (West Indies), Caleb Jewell, Chris Jordan (England), Ben McDermott, Riley Meredith, Mitch Owen, Waqar Salamkheil (Afghanistan), Billy Stanlake, Matthew Wade
KFC BBL|14 standings
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
SCO
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.438 | 0 | 2 |
|
2
HEA
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.872 | 0 | 2 |
|
3
SIX
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.847 | 0 | 2 |
|
4
THU
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.205 | 0 | 2 |
|
5
HUR
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
6
STR
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.205 | 0 | 0 |
|
7
REN
|
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -0.847 | 0 | 0 |
|
8
STA
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | -1.158 | 0 | 0 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points
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