Bethell believes he should have played more cricket for England in home summer

Southampton, Sep 7 (IANS) Left-handed batting all-rounder Jacob Bethell believed he should have featured more for England in the ongoing home summer after having limited chances in the Test team.

Bethell was selected only for the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval, after coming in as a replacement for injured Ben Stokes. But he registered 6 and 5 in both innings of a narrow six-run defeat for England, leading to the series ending in a 2-2 draw.

Bethell had earlier impressed with half-centuries in each of the three Tests in England’s 2-1 series win over New Zealand, and his omission from the Test side for a large part of the series against India became a major talking point.

It intensified when he hit a 40-ball 58 in the second ODI against South Africa. While insisting he tried to block out the outside noise, Bethell conceded the lack of game time around the Test series against India was frustrating.

"There's been a little bit of noise but I don't listen to it much. If I'm honest, I probably should have played slightly more when I wasn't playing in the Test matches, but that's something that I'll take and I'll learn from that. The West Indies ODI series earlier in the summer was a whitewash and that was great."

"Even though I didn't play much in that Test series, I was around the group for a lot of it, and just to watch a high-octane Test series like that was unbelievable. I got a chance in the last Test and unfortunately couldn't go on there and put in a performance, but I've loved (the summer). Playing for England is a dream come true and hopefully I can do it for a long time to come," said Bethell to Sky Sports.

Bethell is set to feature in England’s T20Is against South Africa next week before captaining the side in Ireland, where he will become their youngest-ever skipper. He is also expected to join the England team for their white-ball tour of New Zealand, before travelling to Australia as a reserve batter for the Ashes.

He is also in line to be a part of limited-overs series in Sri Lanka and India in the lead-up to the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup. "Now I'm looking at what I have ahead and there's a lot of cricket, so that little gap where I didn't play actually might be quite nice for me," he added.

Former England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan feels being on the sidelines of the Test team will serve crucial lessons to young Bethell. "He has had a say on the amount of cricket he has played but the final decision falls with (England managing director) Rob Key and (head coach) Brendon McCullum. When players are so young you have to take a lot of the players' own decision into account - they have to own their own game."

"I have no doubt this will be a lesson for Bethell and that moving forward he will not only look at what tours he is going on but take more responsibility for his own career and performance. I think one of his biggest attributes is that he is incredibly open and willing to grow."

"There is clearly one ear listening to what is going on. When I see him with bat and ball in hand or hear him speak he is so hungry to learn. You can have all the talent in the world but if you are not willing to learn you probably won't be around for very long," he said.

--IANS

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