Jacob Bethell fulfilled his rich potential with a luckless maiden Test century on Wednesday as England built a fragile 119-run second innings lead with two wickets remaining to give themselves a glimmer of hope in the final Ashes Test.
By the end of the fourth day at the Sydney Cricket Ground, England had reached 302-8 with Bethell imperious on 142 not out and number 10 Matthew Potts yet to score.
England are desperate for another win to boost their morale following their victory in the previous Test in Melbourne. Australia leads 3-1 and has already retained the Ashes.
It was Bethell, 22, who kept their faint hopes alive after the early fall of Zak Crawley and the departure of first-innings centurion Joe Root cheaply.
He powered his hundred off 162 balls by smashing a high drive over midwicket for four.
“It’s pretty special, it’s not really sunk in yet. I haven’t really had time to think about it,” Bethell told reporters.
Bethell had his parents in the stands and raised his bat toward them as he crossed the line.
“Doing that and having the family there was very special,” the left-hander said.
“My dad was a cricketer, so he knows what it’s like to be out there batting, but I don’t think that stops him from getting any less nervous.”
It was not only Bethell’s first Test, but the only one he had scored in red-ball cricket, with his previous best 96 coming against New Zealand.
Bethell was recalled to Melbourne to replace the underperforming Ollie Pope, scoring a 40 in difficult batting conditions.
He proved to be England’s rock but soon saw wickets fall at the other end as Harry Brook was trapped in weight for 42 and Will Jacks caught without scoring in the space of three balls from part-timer Beau Webster.
“I certainly didn’t think I would make an impact on this game,” said Webster, who is more typically employed as a seamer but returned figures of 3-51.
Webster thought the field had begun to take its turn. “There was a little wear and tear from Starcy’s footprints,” he said. “And we managed to make the most of it in this session.”
“You have to be intelligent”
A mix-up saw Jamie Smith run out for 24 as he and Bethell threatened to take the game away from Australia with a sixth-wicket partnership that reached 45.
Ben Stokes then came in at number eight with a score of 264-6 after limping off due to a groin injury while bowling, but the captain lasted just five balls.
Australia were dismissed for 567 before lunch thanks to skipper Steve Smith’s Travis Head’s 163 and 138, a first-innings lead of 183 runs.
England needed a good start, but tormentor-in-chief Mitchell Starc once again conjured up a breakthrough first – his 29th wicket for the series.
A fine inswinger was misjudged by Crawley who shouldered his arms as he hit his cushion and he was off weight for one.
His compatriot Ben Duckett was dropped on 38, but failed to capitalize and was bowled by Michael Neser on 42, his highest score in a miserable series.
Root, fresh from his first round 160, was terrorized by Starc and Neser. He eventually went down in weight after facing 37 balls for just six runs against the relentless Scott Boland.
Bethell knew he would now have to lead the line on the fifth morning as England attempted to achieve a competitive target.
“I’m going to have to be smart about how we let Pottsy and (Josh) Tongue in and what they face,” Bethell said.
“But I’m just going to have to close the gaps. It’s a big outfield, so there’s a lot of gaps and I just have to try to close them.”
