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It was really good to see Jacob Bethell with a smile on his face and scoring runs at Lord’s on Thursday, despite England falling to a series defeat against an impressive South Africa.
There has been so much pressure heaped on the 21-year-old this summer that it hardly seems fair, but at Lord’s he seemed to be really enjoying himself during his 58 off 40 balls.
Bethell was dismissed playing poor shots in his past two international matches – in his one Test of the summer at The Oval, at a crucial stage of the game, and at Headingley in the first one-day international of this series on Tuesday.
He also struggled in The Hundred, where it was evident he was getting big send-offs from the opposition and receiving banter about being England’s ‘Golden Boy’, which was unkind.
People need to back off Bethell a bit. Even Sachin Tendulkar had to go out and do the work to learn his game. Everybody does.
Nobody can be expected to walk into the international game without that knowledge, and you cannot have that without playing a volume of cricket.
That way you know what your game is and how you play in certain scenarios.
I am not saying do not pick Bethell for England. But let him play – all a lad of his age wants to do is go and play.
I cannot understand why they picked him as captain for the T20 tour of Ireland.
I really hope it does not go wrong because anything can happen in T20 games.
I found England managing director Rob Key’s comments about seeing Bethell’s leadership qualities slightly absurd.
What leadership qualities has he possibly shown when he has been carrying drinks all summer as 12th man for the Test team, rather than playing for Warwickshire?
It would be far better to take the pressure off him because if we give him the space to understand his game then he can play more innings like Lord’s.
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England search for crucial balance
England are searching for that fifth bowler which balances their side.
It is so difficult if you do not have an all-rounder – and this team are lacking one.
I enjoyed Bethell’s innings with the bat, but he was hammered with the ball – he and Will Jacks conceded a combined 112 runs from 10 overs.
You simply cannot fiddle around with part-time bowlers for 10 overs; nor can you bowl them very late in the innings.
By that time, batters are set and the South Africa middle order is pretty brutal.
After how they batted at Headingley, England were concerned about the depth of their batting, hence their including Jacks at number seven.
The make-up of the team is a problem and I felt a bit sorry for fast bowler Sonny Baker, who was dropped for the second ODI after a difficult debut.
Baker was very expensive in Leeds, but if you are going to pick somebody in the team two days ago, then you pick him again 48 hours later.
Everyone is entitled to be nervous on their debut. It was a very good pitch at Headingley with a very fast outfield.
Fast forward to Lord’s and the ball was moving around at the start of the innings. That was an opportunity to see what Baker can do, especially after England won the toss and chose to field.
He will be back in the team on one of this winter’s tours, but I would have liked to have seen an arm around his shoulder this week.
Have England progressed since Champions Trophy?
The main point we made about England’s campaign in the Champions Trophy in February was that they do not know how to play 50-over cricket.
That is not entirely their fault – they hardly play it. It is almost all T20 that these players play now, and 50-over cricket is a completely different game.
Rebuilding innings – like South Africa had to do at Lord’s – is a skill you learn through playing the format.
England’s players must learn how to pace it and how to restructure an innings when they lose quick wickets.
On the past two showings, not too much has changed from the mindset that existed at the Champions Trophy.
Yes, England beat West Indies 3-0, but they are not a strong team.
This series against South Africa is a much better indicator of where England’s 50-over game is – and it is struggling.
These one-day series matter because they are linked to World Cup qualification. England could be in the ignominious position of having to go through a qualifier against the likes of Netherlands, Scotland and the USA.
England are eighth in the International Cricket Council’s one-day standings, which are used to determine qualification – the top eight, plus hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, qualify automatically for the 14-team tournament.
It is not a good position to be in because, after the South Africa series and the T20 tour of Ireland, England head to a tough series in New Zealand.
With the Ashes coming up a few weeks later, it is going to be quite hard for them to be focused on that one-day series.
Having to face qualifying remains a realistic threat.
Jonathan Agnew was talking to BBC Sport’s Mike Peter
