I’m England star who was born in Barbados – my mates will have my name on their shirts, with West Indies hats on!
JACOB BETHELL knows his mates want him to do well . . . but maybe not too well.
All-rounder Bethell has been named as England’s new spare Test batsman — even though he has never scored a century.
But first, the 21-year-old Warwickshire rookie plays white-ball cricket in the Caribbean where he will confront divided loyalties.
Bethell was born in Barbados before moving to the UK in his early teens.
So there will be plenty of emotion during England’s eight-match trip, which begins with a 50-over game in Antigua tomorrow.
He said: “Having a couple of games where I grew up in Barbados is pretty special. I’ve been able to come over in advance, relax and catch up with people.
“Everyone says they have tickets so there should be a good turnout cheering me on.
“My mates are saying they’ll try to get Bethell shirts but combine it with a West Indies hat.
“They will be sitting heavily on the fence!
“It’ll be a great trip. We’ve got some momentum although we lost the last game against Australia. Each game we played we felt we were getting better as a team.”
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Bethell’s inclusion for the three-Test tour of New Zealand, beginning in late November, is the latest left-field selection as England pick on potential rather than solid stats.
The left-hander gets his chance because wicketkeeper Jamie Smith misses the tour as his partner is due to give birth to their first child in December.
England have already said Essex’s Jordan Cox will replace Smith behind the stumps, further closing the door on the international careers of Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes.
That leaves Bethell as next in line if a batsman is injured or ill.
He impressed with some dashing white-ball innings against the Aussies last month — smashing 44 off 24 balls in the second T20 — and can also bowl left-arm spin.
In 20 first-class matches, Bethell’s batting average is a modest 25.44. He has made five fifties and no hundreds.
England have retained faith in the squad which lost 2-1 in Pakistan after leading the series 1-0 — that means vice-captain Ollie Pope will continue to bat at No 3 despite managing just 55 runs in his five innings on the tour.
Bethell, Cox and leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed are in the Caribbean but will fly to New Zealand in time for the First Test, starting on November 27, in Christchurch.
ENGLAND TEST SQUAD
FOR tour of New Zealand
Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (capt), Jordan Cox (wk), Jacob Bethell, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Gus Atkinson, Matt Potts, Olly Stone, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir, Rehan Ahmed.