The Ashes: Jacob Bethel or Ollie Pope – should England switch to No. 3 for third Test in Adelaide? | Cricket News

Calls for change are growing after England suffered their second heavy eight-wicket defeat in Tests to Australia, trailing 2-0 in the Ashes.

Far from igniting a buzz ball on their first visit Down Under, it’s not just England’s approach that has changed, but their preparation and, perhaps most importantly, their squad.

But what will change? Choices are limited in England.

While Josh Tang could be introduced to shake up the bowling attack, the character shown by Will Jacks in the loss in Brisbane is likely to rule out Shoaib Bashir’s Ashes debut in Adelaide, with Jacks remaining as England’s spin option instead.

Although the team does not have a specialist opener in the reserves, Zak Crawley at least found some form of form at The Gabba, scoring 76 and 44.

In the absence of a reserve wicketkeeper, Jamie Smith is likely to be given a reprieve, with Olly Pope, also missing from the Knicks, the gloved replacement and he faces his own battle to remain in the side.

That is the most obvious change England can make. Will Jacob Bethell, who scored 71 points in his last game for the England Lions, replace Pope at number three?

Why would England consider a change?

Because the Ashes are literally at stake, and the Adelaide Test is potentially England’s last chance to revamp their squad with something still to play for.

Pope isn’t the only England batsman whose place in the team deserves scrutiny, as Harry Brook has given up wickets multiple times in the first two Tests and Ben Duckett has a top score of 28 in four innings, but it won’t take Crawley long to get a pair in Perth.

But particularly galling was the nature of Pope’s dismissal at The Gabba. He stumped for a duck in the first innings when he played a loose shot outside, but in the second round he ignored the warning despite showing a number of flash edges and false shots, before taking a soft catch to bowl Michael Nether.

Pope now has 63 Tests to his name, so this is no longer due to youthful exuberance or inexperience – he was England’s vice-captain under Ben Stokes before clashing with Brook before this trip.

His performance against Australia was particularly poor, with seven Tests in the .050 range, let alone 100 matches, and an average of 18.71.

Bethel has long been in contention to replace Pope in Stokes’ side, but lately it has been more like a polite knock than a knock on the door.

The problem for Bethel, which is rich in talent, is its lack of experience and lack of timeouts in the midfield. The 22-year-old is yet to score a red-ball hundred in his career, but he scored his first professional ton in the ODI series against South Africa in September.

Bethel also made a huge impression in his debut Test series in New Zealand last winter, scoring his first goal in a 2-1 win from No. 3 with Pope serving as wicketkeeper lower down the order.

However, England objected to recalling Bethel from his IPL stint early for the summer, and as a result Bethel lost his No. 3 spot to Pope for the one-off Test match against Zimbabwe and the drawn five-game series against India, but played at No. 6 in place of the injured Stokes in the final Test.

Bethel looked pretty rusty in that game at The Oval, scoring just 11 runs in two innings. It was one of just two red-ball games the talented left-hander played in the summer, and has since made four appearances for the Australian Lions, but selection for Adelaide would represent a significant risk.

A case for change and the introduction of Bethel.

Former England captain Michael Atherton said on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast:

“I do not object to Bethel replacing the Pope for several reasons.

“One, he just hit over 70 (with the Lions). He looked pretty good in New Zealand (last year) and when he played, he hit three and he also hit spin with his left arm.

“We go to Adelaide and Adelaide tend to like a little bit more spin and if you’re going to play Jax instead of Bashir, you’re going to balance the side with off-spin and a left-armer.

“I’ll have to sit down and think about it a little bit, but I don’t think I’ll be against it at the moment.

“But going back to the point where we were fed up, I would have been much more comfortable if he had spent the summer playing cricket and gained a little more experience, which he should have done.”

Opposition to the Pope and the lawsuits that persist in it

Former England seamer Stuart Broad said on the Sky Sports Cricket podcast:

“With Pope getting sent off in the second innings (against Brisbane) and giving it back to Michael Nether, I’m putting pressure on myself.

“At the end of the day, he’s probably the only one that’s going to be talked about because we don’t have a backup opening batsman.

“Bethel could come in, but I wouldn’t say that because Pope has a track record of scoring, but not necessarily Jonathan Trott-style scoring.

“Bethel scored 71 points for the Lions, his second 50 in a year, having scored against Hamilton in a test match last December.

“I don’t think we’re going to make a change because the run weight isn’t necessarily there and the talent weight isn’t necessarily there to take Pope off the team.

“If this was England’s best top seven in the first Test in Perth two-and-a-half weeks ago, I don’t know what has changed to not be England’s best top seven next week.

“I don’t necessarily think bringing Bethel in at three o’clock will strengthen the situation.”

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