Phil Salt (Twitter)
England’s stand-in captain Phil Salt heaped praise on young Jacob Bethell after the talented cricketer played a gutsy knock to help the Three Lions win the do-or-die second T20I against Australia at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Friday, September 13.
England picked a lot of fresh faces in their side for the high-voltage series, and Bethell was the first of them to make an impression with his batting prowess. Chasing a challenging target of 194 to restore parity in the three-match series, the hosts lost three wickets for 79 runs inside the first nine overs.
Liam Livingstone, who played a stunning knock, was looking dangerous, but he needed someone to give him support. The 20-year-old Bethell, playing only his second international game, put his hand up and forged a 90-run partnership off just 47 balls to put England in a position of strength.
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The left-handed batter scored 44 off just 24 balls, hitting four fours and three sixes. When he was dismissed in the 17th over, England needed only 25 runs off 23 balls, with six wickets in hand. The home side did lose three more wickets before finally getting home with seven balls to spare. Bethell was particularly severe against Zampa as he took the experienced leg-spinner for 20 runs in the 14th over and this drew him praise from his captain.
“Really pleased the boys have come here and done it straight away. We know how good Australia are on the top. [Jacob] Bethell is a real talent, the way he took down [Adam] Zampa, there’s not many that can do that, really pleased for him,” Salt said after the match.
England’s interim head coach, Marcus Trescothick, said that he noticed Bethell’s talent when he was coaching him during his teenage days.
“I see a super talented kid who’s making his way in the game. I’ve coached him a couple of times through the England Under-19s programme, going back a couple of years, and it was really evident to me that he’s going to be a superstar,” Trescothick said.
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The series is intriguingly poised at 1-1 with the decider set to be held in Manchester on Sunday, September 15.