England batsmen Jacob Bethel He is available for selection for the first Test against New Zealand starting on Thursday after recovering from a finger injury that forced him out of IPL 2026 ahead of the playoffs.Bethel cut short his time with IPL 2026 champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru so he could return home and be assessed by England’s medical team ahead of the New Zealand series.England head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed on Tuesday that the left-hander has fully recovered.“He was working in the lane in our training yesterday and he’s fine, so there’s no problem there,” McCollum said.“He should also be able to bowl, which is quite handy for us to have another bowling option in the top order.”Bethel was one of the positives for England during the 4-1 Ashes defeat in Australia and scored a century in the Sydney Test. He has played six Tests so far and averages 43. His only last Test at home was against India last year, when he batted at No. 6 and scored 6 and 5.The 21-year-old is now set to bat at No.3 in place of Ollie Pope. McCollum said that despite spending time in franchise cricket, Bethel’s preparation is not lacking.“His game seems to be in good shape,” he said, according to news agency AP. “I believe working in India, I know it’s probably not ideal from a structural point of view and maybe he’s not getting as many Red Ball games under his belt, but he’s got a calm head and he’s a very methodical developer in terms of the mental side of the game.”The England coach also spoke about the future of the team’s “bassball” approach after the Ashes setback. He said that England still wants to maintain its identity but is trying to improve in key areas.“We still want to be recognizable from the past,” he said, “but we hope to be a cricket team that has improved somewhat in some key areas where we’ve identified that we’ve been lacking before. We want to be a team that’s better under pressure, a team that can move tactically, that understands where you sit in the game and what’s needed.”“We still want the identity of the past,” he added, “but we want a better version of it.”
