Bethell is unlikely to be in England’s XI for the first Test against India that starts at Headingley on Friday, with Ollie Pope favourite to retain the No 3 position.
Yet the 21-year-old would undoubtedly be an upgrade on any of Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green, Australia’s top three who managed a grand total of 49 runs between them at Lord’s last week.
From bad to worse for Steve Smith!
He is forced off with a dislocated finger after dropping a catch pic.twitter.com/TbA9YysLCJ
This is true. But it is equally true that those four bowlers are all the wrong side of 30 and entering the twilight of their careers.
That their first reserve in terms of seam bowlers is the 36-year-old Scott Boland also says a lot.
Nathan Lyon will be 38 by the time the Ashes start (Photo: Getty)
Put simply, Australia have far more questions to answer ahead of the Ashes than England.
We will see how fast that pace of change will be when Australia begin a three-Test series in the West Indies later this month.
There are valid question marks over at least four of the top six, with perhaps only Travis Head and Steve Smith guaranteed their places.
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It seems likely that Sam Konstas – an opener who has one score above 23 in two Tests so far – will come into the team for the series in the Caribbean.
He could, though, have a stay of execution in the West Indies, albeit down the order, given the finger injury sustained at Lord’s by Smith looks likely to rule him out of at least the first Test. That said, wicketkeeper-batter Josh Inglis is another option.
He has one century in his past 38 innings – a career-best 232 in Sri Lanka earlier this year – but was backed by both Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald after Lord’s.
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As for Green, Australia’s only player under 30 at Lord’s and who lasted just five balls in total in that match, it is unlikely he will be tried at No 3 again, especially as the all-rounder will return to bowling later this year following injury.
The average age of Australia’s XI at Lord’s was 33 – compared to England’s 27.6 for their last Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge last month.
At 32, Cummins is the youngest, with Hazlewood 34, Starc 35 and Lyon 37, who will turn 38 the day before the Ashes start.
As much as England will fret over the fitness of their quicks ahead of the winter, they at least have significant depth.
The same cannot be said of Australia in any department.
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