Jacob Bethell, the 21-year-old Barbados-born all-rounder, will make his Test debut for England in Christchurch on Wednesday and is slated to bat at No 3.
Although the selection has been forced by an injury to Jordan Cox – with Ollie Pope to keep wicket in the first Test against New Zealand – it still represents England’s boldest pick under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Bethell, a stylish left-hander who plays for Warwickshire, is yet to score a century at first-class level and will be the first batter to make his England debut without doing so since Mike Gatting in 1978.
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