For the county faithful, it felt like the last straw. Jacob Bethell, a bleach-blond youngster with a batting average (25) not much higher than his age (21), and as many first-class hundreds as you or I (zero), was – hey presto! – England’s Test No 3. Was nothing sacred any more?
When it comes to county cricket’s role in Test selection, the answer is: absolutely not. Which invites a further question: is that necessarily a problem?
Bethell’s 37-ball half-century in England’s breezy chase in Christchurch provided a response of sorts, though for the sceptics it will take more than a quick fifty in a small chase to move the dial. At stake is a broader principle: if Test players are being chosen in spite of county cricket rather than because of it, you may wonder about the purpose of county cricket.
All those pathways, all those academies, all that investment – and then some fella who has never batted at No 3 even for Warwickshire is handed the keys to one of the toughest positions in the Test line-up.
The erosion of domestic cricket’s importance began with the introduction of central contracts in 2000, which – above all – allowed Duncan Fletcher to keep Darren Gough and Andy Caddick fresh for Tests.
Fletcher also showed what he thought of county form by picking Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick, each averaging around 30 when they first played Test cricket. Critics of today’s approach may like to recall how those two got on.
Jacob Bethell enjoyed his England Test bow as he helped them win the first Test vs New Zealand
Bethell made a 37-ball half-century in England’s chase despite never having batted at No 3 before
His inclusion was contentious – with traditionalists asking about the point of the county game
Seamers, meanwhile, had to be fast: Steve Harmison and Simon Jones were the template, not Ed Giddins. You could bowl under 85mph only if you swung it, like Matthew Hoggard. Thanks to Fletcher’s conviction, England settled on an attack capable of winning the 2005 Ashes.
Yet in the intervening years there has been a connection between the Test team and county cricket, a tacit agreement that inclusion in one stemmed broadly from success in the other.
As with the Zimbabwean Fletcher, it has needed outsiders to upset that equation. New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum more obviously ticks that box than Rob Key – born in East Dulwich, bred in Kent – but Key’s willingness to cast off the conservatism that has often held the English game back has been crucial.
Essentially, Key’s England set-up has reached a conclusion: because county cricket is unlikely to change its ways, the selectors have changed theirs. Players are chosen not according to the old metrics of batting and bowling averages, but on the basis of a simple question: do they have the tools, and the ticker, to thrive at the top – especially on flat pitches abroad?
It has been galling for county fans to confront this new reality, but England are ruthless in their belief that cricket at international and domestic level are two different games. To generalise horribly: county batsmen tuck 75mph seamers off their hip; Test batsmen hook 90mph quicks off their helmet.
It’s why Essex seamer Sam Cook – whose 308 first-class wickets at under 20 – will not play for England under the current regime. McCullum is uninterested in a 78mph seamer, unless he has the skills of Jimmy Anderson. Even then, it would be a stretch.
The Bazball approach is not without science. The data generated by the GoPro mini-cameras worn by county umpires has provided useful guidance on, for instance, who bowls a length that might work in Australia. If you’re not in the right column on one of Key’s spreadsheets, you can kiss England goodbye.
But hunches are also at play. The belief that a high release point is a must for a Test finger-spinner led to the rapid promotion of both Tom Hartley, whose debut seven-for spun England to victory at Hyderabad, and Shoaib Bashir, who is Test cricket’s third-leading wicket-taker in 2024 – even while Jack Leach keeps him out of the side at Somerset.
Despite 308 first-class wickets Sam Cook’s skillset does not fit the current England requirements
The question of height is partly why Liam Dawson is no longer on England’s radar, despite bowling beautifully for Hampshire.
The success of England’s out-there selections has not exactly cheered up county supporters. Every time Jamie Smith misses a chance – and he hasn’t missed many – the bugle sounds for Ben Foakes, who keeps wicket ahead of him at Surrey. Yet Foakes averaged 29 in Test cricket with a strike-rate of 47; Smith’s figures so far are 42 and 72. He is a match-winner with the bat in a way Foakes was not.
There was similar scepticism about the elevation of Gus Atkinson, who immediately took 12 wickets against West Indies at Lord’s.
Even Josh Hull, the giant Leicestershire left-armer who played against Sri Lanka at The Oval after taking two championship wickets in 2024 at an average of over 180, did not disgrace himself – even if his 20-year-old body might not have been Test-ready. But first-innings figures of three for 53 were better than adequate, and England are understandably keen for his left-arm variety.
And so back to Bethell, whose selection provoked such irritation on social media that a few England fans were hoping he failed. It’s possible some have swallowed the idea that Bazball is all about vibes, golf and beer, in which case they would not have won 21 of their 33 Tests.
Brendon McCullum isn’t looking at county cricket as a direct meritocracy for England selection
Others have discerned darker forces at work, encouraged by the words of Sam Curran after he was passed over for a Test recall following Ben Stokes’ hamstring injury in the summer. ‘There’s actually nothing you can do about it,’ he told talkSPORT. ‘If you fit what they’re looking for, you’re great. But if you don’t, it actually might not be an ability thing.’
This would be a strange approach from Stokes and McCullum, who are as competitive as you can get: witness their mano-a-mano six-hitting contests.
Despite it all, the Bazballers do look at the domestic game – just through a different prism. It may sound harsh, but county cricketers who are yet to work this out may never play for England.
The ECB’s new policy may need a re-think
Have the ECB properly thought through their new policy on No-Objection Certificates for county cricketers who want to appear in overseas franchise tournaments during the English summer? Because while their intention to ‘protect the integrity of our sport’, as chief executive Richard Gould has put it, is a good one, there is talk of anger among players who have been told they won’t get an NOC if they have an all-format county deal. Except if they want to play in the IPL, of course, which as usual is regarded differently.
Now, the players’ union are examining whether this amounts to a restraint of trade. One obvious consequence would be the precise opposite of what the ECB intend: players would quit red-ball cricket altogether, paving the way for participation in T20 leagues in Pakistan, the USA, the Caribbean and Sri Lanka. Cricket’s landscape just got messier.
ECB chief Richard Gould may have to tinker their new policy on No-Objection Certificates for county cricketers who want to play overseas franchise tournaments during the English summer
Gower’s gentle Boycott joke
Before the Christchurch Test, several members of the New Zealand team who first beat England, at Wellington in February 1978, gathered to share their memories in front of an audience at Hagley Oval.
On the panel was David Gower, who wouldn’t make his Test debut for another four months, but is over here as a commentator, and who produced a memorable line about Geoff Boycott’s first-innings 77, which took nearly seven and a half hours.
‘By Geoffrey’s standards, it was f****** rapid,’ he said, before pausing.
‘And I apologise for using the word “rapid”.’
David Gower produced a memorable line about Geoff Boycott’s 77 against New Zealand in 1978
Australia facing an unwanted hat-trick
Has a Test involving Australia ever shaped up as fascinatingly as Friday’s day/nighter against India at Adelaide? Australia – who began the year with defeat by West Indies at the Gabba – have not lost three home Tests in a row since 1988-89. Another defeat now, and whispers of a rift in the camp could reach Manchester City proportions.
