‘I’m hoping I don’t get booed too much’ – Jacob Bethell on returning to birthplace while representing England

Young Jacob Bethell is the one to have been brought up in the West Indies before making his international debut for England. The batting all-rounder has been shortlisted in the ODI and T20I squads for England’s white-ball tour to the West Indies, scheduled to commence on October 31, 2024.

Bethell, during a recent interaction on the sidelines of the Professional Cricketers’ Association awards where he was nominated for the ‘Young Player of the Year’ award, spoke on the feeling of returning to his roots later this year. He also made a cheeky remark which involved him not wanting to induce the same sort of reactions by the West Indian supporters as Steve Smith was via the English supporters during Australia’s recent tour to England.

“That’s where my heritage is, so all my friends have already bought tickets; they’ll be in the stands waiting for me when I get there. I’m slightly worried about how the West Indian fans are going to accept me, so I’m hoping I don’t get booed too much, as I’ve seen Steve Smith in his last few games, and every time he walks out to bat, it’s like the end of the world. I’m hoping that’s not the case in the West Indies. I’m only joking; there’s a whole lot of support coming around, so I can’t imagine it’s going to be anything but that,” stated Bethell, as quoted by The Telegraph.

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The best one is yet to come, hopefully: Bethell

Bethell, who has already played a total of seven limited-overs games for England, shared that he hoped to debut in the Test side as well.

“It’s nice to tick off two of them, but the best one is yet to come, hopefully. Test cricket has always been my dream, and I know it’s taken a different shape in the last three years, but definitely, that’s still my dream – to play Test cricket for England,” added Bethell.

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Bethell eventually lost the award to wicketkeeper-batter, Jamie Smith. He is a part of the elusive list of Phil Salt, Jofra Archer, and Chris Jordan to have played the national side of England despite having spent his childhood in the Caribbean islands.  

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