"I like three": Jacob Bethell aims to cement his Test spot in top order for England

Sydney [Australia], December 30 (ANI): England batter Jacob Bethell is eyeing to put on another strong display in the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia in Sydney to lock down the number three spot in Test cricket for the Three Lions.
The 22-year-old made his Test debut for England against New Zealand at the Christchurch Test in November 2024. Since then, Bethell has played five matches and 10 innings, scoring 312 runs at an average of 34.66. The England youngster has notched up three half-centuries.
The England youngster has batted at the number three position in four Test matches for the Three Lions. In seven innings, Bethell has made 261 runs at an impressive average of 43.50. including three fifties.
Bethell played a significant role in England's four-wicket triumph over Australia in the Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The left-handed batter scored a valuable 40 in the final innings of the match, helping his side past the victory target.
It was Bethell's first chance of the ongoing five-match Ashes series as mainstay Ollie Pope was preferred for the opening three Tests that England failed to flatter in, with the 22-year-old likely to get another opportunity to make the key spot his own when the series finale commences in Sydney on January 4.
"I like three. You come in when the ball is new and in some scenarios the ball's going all over the shop, but in other scenarios it presents opportunities to score when bowlers are trying to take wickets and the field is attacking there's loads of gaps," Bethell said as quoted by ICC.
"I've still got a lot more to do to call it my position. I would like to (make the spot my own). I would like to just nail down any role in the team. If you're in the XI and contributing to winning I'm pretty happy with that," he added.
The 22-year-old said that his time in the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bengaluru had helped him prepare for the big stage of a Boxing Day Test in Melbourne as he had previously had experience playing in front of large crowds.
"It's knowing what I'm able to get out of myself when the situation is like that and when the atmosphere is like that," Bethell noted of the crowds in excess of 90,000 at the MCG. I definitely had a lot more confidence coming into this game after playing in front of, I don't know, 50,000 - which felt like 100,000 - in Bengaluru," he said. (ANI)