Former England captain Michael Atherton has questioned the choice for Jacob Bethell to start at No.3 for the Melbourne Test against Australia in the Ashes. The fourth Ashes Test in Melbourne focused squarely on Bethell as he returned to the England side at No.3, a position under the spotlight due to England’s continued search for stability in the top order. Bethell’s promotion comes after limited opportunities in first-class cricket last year, playing just one game for Warwickshire in the County Championship last season.
He played the last match against India during the series earlier in the year and was playing for the England Lions, but Atherton feels he has been thrown in at the deep end by being asked to go with England at 7/1 in front of a loud MCG crowd.
“Obviously he’s a very good player but I think he was just hiding from zero. This is a kid who has hardly played any first-class cricket for the last 12 months and now he’s been bowled out at third on a very useful pitch (for bowlers) in front of almost 95,000,” Atherton said.
Bethell scored three fifties during the tour of New Zealand at No.3, replacing the out-of-form Ollie Pope, but Atherton wondered if the decision was a good one.
“Should he have been at No.3 in this game? Well, he did quite well there in New Zealand, but you could still argue, ‘Joe Root, go up there’.”
“That argument has been made in the past and I don’t think England want to consider it after how well he did at No.4, but I felt that with the young man, Bethell. I didn’t feel it was an easy task at all.”
ATHERTON RESPONDS TO BETHELL’S LEADERSHIP
Bethell played just five Tests for England during this time and had a chance to be used at No.3 during the one-off Test against Zimbabwe. But England decided it was best for him to stay behind with RCB in the IPL, which Atherton criticized.
“It’s not backwards to say we criticized Bethell’s management. It’s ridiculous how he was blocked and hardly played,” Bethell said.
Bethell was dismissed for just one run as England crumbled on the first day of the Melbourne Test.
– The end
Published on:
December 26, 2025
