Bethell and Mousley are both aggressive middle-order batters who also bowl spin, if you use the term loosely to describe Mousley’s darts.
In many ways Bethell, like Mousley, is the typical, modern-day cricketer. For starters there’s the bold, dyed-blonde hair and a Great Dane named Stormzy, but also the array of attacking shots.
He first emerged with an innings of 88 off just 42 deliveries in the quarter-final of the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, setting up a victory in a run to the final by an England squad that also included Rehan Ahmed.
But the 20-year-old also manages to nod towards the more traditional.
Growing up he was inspired by – and attempted to copy – the elegance of Joe Root, while before matches he likes to make notes on the bowlers he could face – a method famously used by England great Geoffrey Boycott among others.
“I will have a little look at the bowlers – I won’t study them – but have a watch,” he reveals.
“I then write down a few keys that I could take into the game. Writing stuff down feels like it etches it in my mind.”
And Bethell is absolute when it comes to the future. Opportunities in franchise cricket can come quickly after an international debut but he wants to build on a first year as a red-ball regular for Warwickshire in which 466 runs have come in 11 matches.
“I enjoy playing cricket, so the more cricket there is the better, but I don’t see it as a feasible option to stop playing red-ball cricket,” he says.
“Then you probably won’t have a county contract and are leaving yourself out to a lot of pressure to get franchise gigs which is quite cut-throat.
“Test cricket is definitely the pinnacle and I see myself as someone who is able to adapt to all formats and situations.”
Bethell is in the big boys’ school now.
