Ahead of the series, England has decided to provide rest to its designated skipper, Harry Brook. He will be expected to make his appearance in the upcoming highly anticipated Ashes rivalry against Australia
Jacob Bethell (Pic: X/@ICC)
England is all set to tour Ireland for the three-match T20I series. Ahead of the series, England has decided to provide rest to its designated skipper, Harry Brook.
He will be expected to make his appearance in the upcoming highly anticipated Ashes rivalry against Australia.
In his absence, the "Three Lions" have appointed Jacob Bethell as their skipper for the Ireland tour. With this, he is set to become the youngest captain to lead England in an international match at the age of 21 years. Currently, the record is held by Monty Bowden, who led the side at the age of 23 years in 1889.
On Bethell's appointment as the captain, former cricketer Mark Butcher said that it is one of those things which are difficult to explain.
"It's one of those ones that's quite difficult to explain, even to people like me, let alone people who have a passing interest in England's cricket teams. And therefore I don't really know what to make of it," he said on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.
The 52-year-old also pointed out that, despite not playing much cricket, how is he being considered to become England's youngest-ever captain.
"He's played next to no cricket all summer. He's 21 and he's had an entire English summer where he has been fit and has played little to no cricket of any meaning whatsoever, and here he is as England's youngest ever captain," said Butcher, who has played 71 Test matches.
"Whether or not it was necessary for him to miss yet more red-ball cricket and captain the England side in Ireland, and quite frankly they've stripped out all the main players from that series anyway, with notable exceptions like Jordan Cox and Liam Livingstone - who only recently captained an England white-ball team on a tour of the West Indies," he added.
The former cricketer then raised questions by saying there is a very strong argument on the 21-year-old's captaincy appointment.
"So, was it necessary for Jacob Bethell to take on this role and play in those games in the absence of more meaningful cricket, giving what's coming up with the Ashes? I think there's a very strong argument that that is absolutely the case yes," said Butcher, who has 4288 Test runs under his belt.
He concluded by saying that appointing such a young skipper for the Ireland tour is similar to showing disrespect to the hosts.
"It shows a bit of a lack of respect for them [Ireland] and their cricket. We're not in the business of making people feel good about themselves, but it also says, 'this is a bit of a throwaway three matches that no one is really that interested in and we'll do what we jolly well like and not be too worried about whatever the consequences might be," he signed off.
The first T20I match between England and Ireland is set to be played on September 17 at the Malahide Cricket Club in Ireland.
(With ANI Inputs)
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