Jacob Bethell scores centuries across formats, yet England falls short.
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Jacob Bethell lunged for the finish line, shoulders digging into the turf like a sprinter’s final burst.
He fell just short, sprawling face‑first as the Wankhede roared around him.
That run‑out sealed India’s win over England in the semifinal.
A Moment That Turned the Tide
When Bethell walked out to the crease, England were wobbling at 38 for 2.
The crowd was a living, breathing beast, chanting at the top of its lungs.
Most players would have cracked under that pressure, but Bethell tuned the noise out and built his own little bubble.
On a pitch that was as friendly as a well‑worn couch, he let his instincts take the wheel.
He sliced a couple of deliveries, smashed a few boundaries, and kept the scoreboard ticking.
In the end, India edged past the 254‑run target by a whisker, leaving England seven runs shy.
“In that kind of pressure cooker, the way he played was just… phenomenal,” England captain Harry Brook said later. “He was in his own bubble and you get that feeling when everything clicks—you could hit every ball for six. It was a ridiculous knock, and he should be proud.”
Bethell’s knock in Mumbai made history: he became the first player to notch a maiden first‑class, List A and T20I century at the international level, all within seven months.
He first cracked the three‑figure mark in ODIs with a 110‑run, 82‑ball blitz against South Africa in September 2025.
A month later, he went on to post a 154‑run, 265‑ball marathon in the Ashes Test at the SCG, and last Thursday, he rounded off the trifecta with a T20 I ton.
“It’s weird, because a Test hundred and a T20 I hundred feel like night and day,” Bethell admitted. “The skill set and the headspace are totally different, yet both came in losing causes. Cricket can be cruel—personal fireworks don’t always light up the scoreboard for the team.”
A few skeptics, including former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, raised eyebrows when Bethell earned his England call‑up without a domestic century on his résumé.
He answered the chatter with a shrug: “I never really cared about the gossip. I believed in myself, and now the numbers are speaking.”
Now he’s the fourth Englishman to record centuries in Tests, ODIs and T20Is, joining the likes of Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan and Harry Brook.
His story feels a bit like a Swiss‑army‑knife innings—versatile, sharp, and a little unexpected.
Takeaway: Even when a player writes his name in the record books, the team can still walk away empty‑handed. It’s a reminder that cricket’s a team sport first, and individual flash can’t always carry the whole house.
Quick Quiz
| Question |
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| Which three international formats has Jacob Bethell scored a century in? |
| Where did Bethell hit his first‑class maiden century? |
| Who criticised Bethell’s England selection for lacking a domestic hundred? |