With the Ashes already lost England have belatedly pulled the selection trigger dropping Ollie Pope and elevating 22-year-old left hand batsman Jacob Bethell.
But who exactly is he?
Born and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Bethell moved to England as a 13-year-old after receiving a scholarship to the prestigious Rugby School in Warwickshire.
His grandfather, Arthur Bethell played first-class cricket for Barbados.
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As a talented youngster growing up in the Carribbean system, Brian Lara once told Bethell ‘you are better than I was’, while retired England star Ian Bell described him as ‘the best 17-year old’ he had ever seen.
Bethell’s first taste of international cricket came with England in T20 (20 matches) and ODI (18 matches) formats, before making his Test debut on the tour of New Zealand in 2024.
He has since played four Tests for England, averaging 38.7 with the bat with a highest score of 96.
His most recent Test appearance came in England’s loss to India at The Oval in August when he batted at six, scoring just six and five.
Bethell impressed against Australia A in Brisbane at the start of December, scoring 71 for the England Lions against an attack that included Australian Test squad members Jhye Richardson, Beau Webster and Todd Murphy.
In the field, he’s easy to spot with his curly blond locks and is also a handy left arm orthodox bowler with Test best figures of 3-72.