Bethell earns first England Test call-up for NZ tour

England person named all-rounder Jacob Bethell successful their squad for the three-Test bid successful New Zealand.

The 21-year-old made his planetary debut successful the summer, playing 2 T20s and 5 one-day internationals against Australia, but this is his archetypal call-up to the Test squad.

Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith volition miss the bid to beryllium astatine the commencement of his archetypal child.

Jordan Cox is acceptable to deputise and marque his Test debut, with left-hander Bethell adding further batting depth.

Vice-captain Ollie Pope keeps his spot successful the squad contempt a hard circuit of Pakistan successful which helium averaged conscionable 11, with a highest people of 29, crossed the 3 Tests.

England besides see 3 frontline spinners successful Shoaib Bashir, Jack Leach and Rehan Ahmed.

Bethell's inclusion is the wide basal retired fixed helium has lone played 20 first-class matches since making his debut for Warwickshire successful 2021.

An mean of 25.44 with nary centuries and lone 5 fifties successful red-ball cricket is besides apt to gully scepticism astatine his selection.

But the Barbados-born batting all-rounder is undoubtedly a talented subordinate and has made his sanction successful the shorter formats.

He starred for Birmingham Phoenix successful The Hundred and besides deed 4 half-centuries for Birmingham Bears successful the Vitality Blast this summertime earlier showing glimpses of his quality successful his archetypal white-ball bid for England.

The bid successful New Zealand is England's past successful the existent World Test Championship cycle, though Ben Stokes' broadside cannot suffice for the final.

The archetypal Test successful Christchurch begins connected 27 November with matches successful Wellington and Hamilton to travel successful December.

By Stephan Shemilt, BBC Chief Cricket Writer

This was an antithetic concern for England. Going backmost to Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence oregon Alex Lees would person raised eyebrows, arsenic would uncapped options similar Ben McKinney and James Rew.

They person settled connected different hunch successful Bethell, who is intelligibly talented but truthful inexperienced and with nary existent assemblage of enactment successful nonrecreational cricket.

For each the speech of gathering a artillery of accelerated bowlers, the batting is present looking curious: Ollie Pope is retired of form, Ben Stokes feeling his mode backmost and Jordan Cox volition get a debut successful New Zealand.

Now, the adjacent antheral successful enactment does not person a first-class hundred. If England are gathering to the Ashes, it is worthy remembering their lone triumph determination successful the past 30-plus years was built connected a stack of runs.

Not everything is astir the Ashes, either.

In the dense nonaccomplishment successful the deciding Test successful Pakistan, England drifted successful the field. A squad of young, unflappable characters is simply a positive, but sometimes you request players to instrumentality the crippled by the scruff of the neck.

Bairstow, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson would beryllium blessed to get successful a battle. Without them, Stokes looked abbreviated of a fewer fighters.

It is admirable that Stokes and Brendon McCullum are revamping the property illustration of the England squad and region cricket is precise antithetic to the planetary game, truthful picking connected attributes alternatively than grounds has merits.

Still, determination is simply a nagging uncertainty England whitethorn person a fewer excessively galore boys and not capable men.

22-23 November: New Zealand Cricket XI v England XI, Sir John Davies Oval, Queenstown (22:00 GMT)

27 November-1 December: First Test, Hagley Oval, Christchurch (22:00 GMT

5-9 December: Second Test, Basin Reserve, Wellington (22:00 GMT)

13-17 December: Third Test, Seddon Park, Hamilton (22:00 GMT)