It was coming – Jacob Bethell smashes first Test century to keep England alive in Sydney
Starboy Jacob Bethell finally got hold of his stride after much speculation as his warring ton kept England alive in the final Ashes Test, even though barely by the skin of their teeth. Bethell registered his first maiden century in Test cricket and it came at a time where England needed something positive desperately.
Sydney stayed witness to Bethell’s unbeaten 142 that kept England fighting for themselves. Bethell walked out to bat in the wake of Ben Duckett departing. He started on a watchful note before amping up the scoring rate.
Bethell’s century was a perfect testimony to the growing reputation of the English all-rounder. Bethell looked impressive in the second innings of the fourth Test as well in Melbourne, scoring a fine 40, ushering England to their first win of the series.
Despite Bethell’s ton, England only held a lead of 119 runs with seven wickets down. Bethell finished the day at 142* alongside Matthew Potts who is still to get off the mark.
Talking in an interview at the end of the day, Bethell said, “It has not sunk it yet, and I have not had the time to reflect on it. It was nice to do it in front of my family. Having missed out on his century against New Zealand on Kiwi soil back in 2024 by four runs, Bethell admitted that he did not feel the jitters of being in nervous nineties against the fiery duo of Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland and had belief in him that ‘it was coming’”.
