Jacob Bethell's innings in England's historic win at the MCG was his most defining in an England shirt to date, writes Katya Witney.
The Melbourne Test match was a farce. The pinnacle of the Australian cricketing calendar was undone by 10mm of grass which should have been lopped off well in advance. As it is, that’s an oversight Cricket Australia, and their players, will pay an eye–watering price for. The argument that neither side has a fully functioning batting lineup, and therefore fully functioning Test cricket shouldn’t be expected, holds some persuasion. But against bowlers able to chuck a ball up on a length and find prodigious, hooping movement, even the best among them were unable to cope.
Unlike in Perth, where normality was possible even with the bounce on offer, the MCG played into England’s hands. The longer a match lasts, the less able England are to keep pace with Australia. That’s what made Australia’s flawed side able to dominate them, all they’ve had to do is sit back and wait. But Melbourne was a sprint to the finish, and suddenly the muscle memory of how to Bazball kicked in. Brydon Carse trotted out at No.3, having been mistaken for three other equally likely candidates who weren’t slated for first drop before he reached the middle. He came in after Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett clicked into place as the opening partnership England have built around over the last three years, chasing a small target with license to thrill before finding the ball with their name on it.
Nevertheless, there was still an element of danger. Chasing the highest score of the game, batting on a snake-pit and two wickets down in the first 10 overs, ‘the chase’ had every possibility of turning into the most disappointing loss of the tour yet. In the end, England were only four wickets clear, with Will Jacks, Josh Tongue, and Gus Atkinson nursing a hamstring injury all that was left to come. The difference came from Jacob Bethell.
England have won a Test in Australia for the first time in 5,468 days! 🏴#Ashes pic.twitter.com/3tcO0YmKSw
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) December 27, 2025
Bethell’s presence on this tour has been an extension of his Test career since those three matches in New Zealand a year ago. He’s been in the shadows, visible on the sidelines – and last week in videos of England players partying in between Tests – but stuck in limbo. Had he made his case unequivocally against India at The Oval, or against any of the second string sides Cricket Australia put out for the Lions to face, his role could have been more central. As it was, doubts started to creep in. England’s other punts have come undone on this tour. Shoaib Bashir hasn’t played a game, Brydon Carse has struggled and Jamie Smith, whose absence in New Zealand facilitated Bethell’s emergence, has largely been missing. Perhaps, should he play, Bethell would be another whose selection would leave England’s ethos exposed in the harsh, unforgiving Australian light.
There’s something to be said of a duty of care to Bethell as well. Stokes spoke of holding "empathy" for England’s battered and bruised players going into the Boxing Day Test. While that’s potentially jarring when aligned with videos of players drinking to excess directly after conceding a series scoreline deficit, it should hold at least somewhat true. For Bethell, who hasn’t played any part in the series scoreline, at 21-years-old on his first big overseas series, which perhaps will be forever the biggest of his career, that environment must be challenging. Having been around England groups secure in themselves, for the first time he’s part of one in crisis. That crisis manifested in change when Ollie Pope was left out for Melbourne, dropping Bethell in it for an unforgiving task on a spiteful pitch with the Ashes already gone and a tour stumbling towards a whitewash.
Bethell’s predicament was summed up by Michael Vaughan on BBC Test Match Special after day one, during which Bethell faced four balls before nicking off. “I just think you're giving kids no chance,” said Vaughan. “He's never got a first-class hundred and you're asking him to deliver on this stage in front of 95,000 when they are three-nil down… If you're going to put him into the side for two games, [other batters should] all move up one and let Jacob come in at No.6 and give him a chance.”
What England have always valued about Bethell is his character. That’s what’s made up for his inexperience, and been muted as interchangeable for that first-class century. It was that character, the confidence that comes from being a childhood prodigy in an environment which nurtures virtuosos, that allowed Bethell to succeed when called-up in New Zealand and asked to bat higher than he ever had before. That same character means he’s one of six England captains in the touring party, with a more lucrative IPL contract than all-but two of his teammates. And today in Melbourne, it’s what enabled him to play a defining role in a famous England win.
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The 40 runs he scored don’t stand out on paper, but they stand above anything Bethell has done previously. It wasn’t low risk, his first three balls were awkwardly dealt with and the first ball after Tea was met with a pre-planned scoop. But at no point was that risk overly reckless on a pitch on which it was impossible to play an innings of true substance. What Bethell did was as close as possible to that, and by scoring 40 at near enough a run-a-ball, his was the most important knock of the match.
There are caveats to how far one can wax lyrical about Bethell’s prowess after that innings. He didn’t stay to finish the job and the dismissal, backing away and slicing to Usman Khawaja on the ring, wasn’t pretty. Chasing a low total and being given license suits Bethell’s temperament over setting up a game as a Test match No.3. And, until he has a sample size big enough for solid judgement, uncertainty will always persist. But, in a situation where he had every right to fail, once again, he didn’t. He showed, after doubts were beginning to creep in, that he actually is the real deal.
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