8 h. ago England: Ollie Pope never in danger of being dropped, insists Ben Stokes

Jacob Bethell has forced the issue of Ollie Pope’s inclusion with some strong recent performances

Politics

9 h. ago Mark Ramprakash believes Jacob Bethell’s test match career can follow Brian Lara’s

Ramprakash says Bethell must wait for his chance to cement his place in the test side much like Lara did for the West Indies

Politics

10 h. ago It would be remarkable to drop Ollie Pope after 171 – Ben Stokes

Pope will line up for England against India despite pressure on his number three place from Jacob Bethell.

Politics

11 h. ago England are right to stick with a settled top six – Bethell should follow the Lara model | Mark Ramprakash

Ollie Pope retains his No 3 spot for the first Test and India wouldn’t mind having a bit more of that kind of continuityThere always seems to be one man under pressure in England’s batting lineup and consensus over the winter seemed to be that Jacob Bethell’s emergence had put Ollie Pope’s place at risk. Pope has clung on to his place for the start of the India series and my view is that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum should be very careful before they mess with what is probably the most settled top six of any Test side in the world at the moment.There was speculation about both Pope and Zak Crawley before they scored centuries in last month’s game against Zimbabwe, but that performance should have secured their spots for this series at least. Bethell is a huge talent and some really top cricketers have spoken very highly about his performances and potential – clearly his time will come. He was impressive in New Zealand over the winter and since then we’ve seen exhilarating glimpse...

Politics

32 h. ago England vs India: Ollie Pope retains place over Jacob Bethell for first Test against India

Jacob Bethell must wait for his chance as Ollie Pope keeps his place at number three

Politics

33 h. ago Ollie Pope gets nod as Jacob Bethell left out of England side for first Test against India

Pope edges out Bethell for the No 3 spot as Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse return to the seam attack

Politics

35 h. ago Sir Alastair Cook explains why England should pick Ollie Pope over Jacob Bethell against India

The debate over England number three position rumbles on for both the India series and the Ashes in December

Society

2 w. ago England recall Jamie Overton for India Test opener as Jacob Bethell returns

Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse also back as Gus Atkinson ruled out with hamstring injury

Politics

2 w. ago Gus Atkinson ruled out of first India Test as Jamie Overton and Jacob Bethell return to England squad

Overton played his sole Test so far in the summer of 2022 while Bethell’s availability leaves England with a selection headache

Politics

3 w. ago Ben Stokes claims Jacob Bethell comments were ‘twisted to suit an agenda’

The England captain had hinted at an immediate return to the Test side for the left-hander but has since clarified his remarks

Politics

4 w. ago Ollie Pope smashes 169 off Zimbabwe to show England selectors his class

Only Test day 1: England 498-3 v ZimbabweDuckett and Crawley also hit centuries in one-off TestThere were shades of The Thick of It after Ben Stokes gave his press conference a day out from this one-off Test against Zimbabwe. When the minister – or in this instance the England captain – said Jacob Bethell would be straight back in for the series against India, this apparently referred to the squad and not necessarily the XI.That Stokes sought to make this clarification through the back channels perhaps said more about the task at hand than England’s true thoughts on the subject. No captain would ever wish to send a player out believing whatever they achieved would be irrelevant, not least a vice-captain and team-first character such as Ollie Pope. Continue reading...

Culture

4 w. ago Jacob Bethell ‘has done himself world of good’ – Ben Stokes hints at Test recall

The 21-year-old made a strong impression in his debut series against New Zealand before Christmas.

Politics