No 3 has been a problem position for England in The Ashes with Ollie Pope struggling for form and his replacement Jacob Bethell was dismissed for just one on a 20-wicket opening day of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.So, should Bethell have been deployed at first drop?
The 22-year-old did impress in that spot last winter in New Zealand, hitting three half-centuries in his maiden Test series, but has been so short of red-ball cricket of late.
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Score summary – Australia vs England, fourth Ashes Test
Australia 152 all out in 45.2 overs in first innings (put in to bat): Josh Tongue (5-45), Gus Atkinson (2-28), Ben Stokes (1-25), Brydon Carse (1-42); Michael Neser (35), Usman Khawaja (29), Alex Carey (20)
England 110 all out in 29.5 overs in first innings: Harry Brook (41 off 34 balls), Gus Atkinson (28 off 35); Michael Neser (4-45), Scott Boland (3-30), Mitchell Starc (2-23), Cameron Green (0-1)
Australia 4-0 after one over in second innings: Scott Boland (4no), Travis Head (0no); Gus Atkinson (0-4)
He made only one County Championship appearance for Warwickshire last season before returning to the Test team for the final fixture of the home summer against India after captain Ben Stokes picked up a shoulder injury.Bethell, who is still to score a first-class hundred, has been playing for England Lions in Australia, yet it is hard to argue that prepared him for walking out at 7-1 at the MCG, in front of a record cricket crowd at the stadium of 94,199.
As Sky Sports’ Michael Atherton put it on his post-play podcast with fellow pundit Nasser Hussain: “Good luck…
2025-12-26 10:00:00
