Jacob Bethell made a big statement in his Test career and the Ashes series with the first Test century for him and the first century against Australia in England’s trailing innings of the 2025-26 series at Sydney Cricket Ground. The left-handed batsman, who is only 22 years old and was promoted to No. 3, took 162 balls to reach the milestone, thus beating his previous best of 96.
At the age of 22 years and 78 days, Bethell was the second youngest batter this century to get an Ashes hundred, just after a former England captain Alastair Cook, who got it in 2006.
Jacob Bethell is the answer to the problems of Ollie Pope
Bethell, who was drafted for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne after the struggles of Ollie Pope, contributed with 1 and 40 in a historic chase of 175. The victory marked the end of England’s 14-year wait for a win on Australian soil and the snapping of an 18-match winless streak.
Bethell’s century in Sydney was in his fifth Test innings at number three. He became the first England position player in that place to score an Ashes hundred since Jonathan Trott 14 years ago. Only Michael Vaughan and Mark Butcher have hit similar centuries from number three in the Ashes since 2001.
The role Bethell played in the innings of England
Jacob Bethell only scored 10 runs in England’s first innings, but he was the one who sheltered the team in the second innings when England was advancing to get rid of the deficit against Australia. After Zak Crawley was out, Bethell entered and made crucial partnerships from that point.
Jacob Bethell contributed 81 runs along with Ben Duckett and later joined hands with Harry Brook to the tune of 102, steadily moving towards a well-deserved century that comprised 13 fours. Bethell displayed his character and was still not out at the end of the writing.
While Joe Root had a hard time and was out for six, Jamie Smith was at the wickets alongside Bethell as England was looking to impose a challenging target on Australia in the final match of the Ashes 2025–26 tour.
Surprisingly, Jacob Bethell has not been given a lot of chances in the Test arena. He made his first appearance in November 2024 and has so far played only six matches, with one hundred and an average of 42.8, his highest scores being 76, 96, 40, an