England sealed the three-match series against Pakistan with a thumping victory in the Lord’s Test. But they will have pointers to address after a couple of players return from injury.
Mark Butcher: How England's batting could look like after Bethell's return
In the latest episode of the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, Mark Butcher gave his solution to England's batting conundrum when Jacob Bethell returns. He is currently sidelined due to a right knee injury, but his return could make things tricky for the management.
Bethell is expected to slot back at No.3, having scored a hundred and four fifties from the position in Test cricket. But Jordan Cox’s assured outings could force England into taking an alternate route. Cox is currently the second-highest run-scorer in the Pakistan series, with 139 runs across three innings, just one behind top-scorer Harry Brook’s 140.
When asked if England could put Cox or Bethell to open the batting, Butcher felt the latter is more suited to the role, only because he has the potential to don any role in the batting order. He then went on to suggest that Bethell could be sent down to six, while Cox retains his spot at one-down.
“Bethell would probably be the more likely one out of the two [to open],” he said. “As much as I hate to suggest that it’s a particularly good idea, only for the fact that Jacob Bethell’s potential excellence is becoming a bit of an albatross around his neck. In other words, he can be given any job and he’ll be fine. Which is sometimes a role for players who are less blessed than he is.”
“I tend to think they might look for another opener to replace Gay,” Butcher continued. “So, let’s take Gay out of the equation for now. You’ve got Cox and Dan Lawrence. They might feel that Jordan Cox, staying at three and allowing Bethell to slot back in at six, replacing Dan Lawrence as a batter who bowls some spin, might sort out the problem.
“Dan Lawrence obviously won’t be opening the batting. And so it might be Lawrence where the trapdoor opens, if we assume that perhaps they’re on the lookout for a specialist opener to replace Gay.”
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