England’s batter Bethell ready for Ashes series if opportunity comes his way

England batter Jacob Bethell is unsure if his first hundred in international cricket in Sunday’s one-dayer against South Africa has opened the door to the Ashes squad but the 21-year-old is confident he would not let anyone down if given the opportunity.

The left-handed batter struck a belligerent 110 as England pummelled South Africa by a record 342 runs in the third and final one-dayer in Southampton.

Bethell, who turns 22 next month, is expected to be included in the squad for the five-test series in Australia, though Ollie Pope remains first choice at number three despite the England vice-captain’s inconsistent recent form.

“I don’t know if these runs mean anything but I don’t think they can hurt,” Bethell said of his Southampton century.

“If the opportunity arises, I’ll hopefully be there to take it.”

It was Bethell’s second successive 50-plus score in the series and the Warwickshire player is determined to keep putting up the big numbers.

“It was a bit of a blur to be honest, but it was a great feeling ... It was unbelievable,” he added. “It feels like an addictive feeling, so hopefully there’s a few more of them to come.”

Fellow centurion Joe Root was full of praise for a player he has watched for a long time.

“He’s very clear on how he wants to play his cricket,” he said. “I’ve known him for a long time - since he was eight years old - so for him to play an innings like that and get us in that position at the halfway stage was fantastic.” The Ashes series begins in Perth on Nov. 21.

Meanwhile, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma questioned his side’s attitude after they were thrashed by 342 runs against England in the largest defeat in ODI history on Sunday.

Chasing 415 to complete a clean-sweep of the three-match series, the Proteas were bowled out for just 72 in 20.5 ignominious overs in Southampton.

It was the biggest winning margin in the history of the ODI format when batting first, surpassing India’s 317-run victory against Sri Lanka in 2023.

South Africa narrowly avoided falling short of their lowest ODI total of 69 against Australia in 1993.

England’s previous biggest margin of victory was a 242-run success against Australia at Trent Bridge in 2018.

Bavuma admitted South Africa’s sloppy fielding, which included several dropped catches, was emblematic of their woeful performance.

“It’s a downer. We were just poor to be honest, in all departments. Fielding is always about attitude, and looking at our fielding and some of the catches you could question where our attitude is,” Bavuma said.

“With the ball at some point something went horribly wrong. The extras as well with the ball, far from ideal.

“With the bat it was always going to be tough, and their bowlers really put us under pressure. We didn’t have a chance.

“To sum it up, a poor game of cricket from us.”

South Africa had won the first two games of the three-match series, but Bavuma insisted lack of motivation was not a factor in their embarrassing surrender.

“I think as an international sportsman you can’t use that as an excuse. Every game you’re playing for your country. There have been changes within our team with players rested so our depth has been tested,” he said.

“For those guys it shows how much of a step up it is for international cricket.

“We have conversations about our depth and when premium players aren’t there, because it takes a squad to go and win trophies.”

Agencies