Jacob Bethell inspired by Ben Stokes after being named youngest England captain
Bethell will break the existing record for an England captain, held by Monty Bowden, who was 23 years and 144 days old when he led a Test team against South Africa at Cape Town in 1888-89, and the Barbados-born all-rounder admits he does not have to look for inspiration in the role.
History maker! 💥
Jacob Bethell is set to become our youngest ever England Men's captain against Ireland 👏
Congrats, Beth! pic.twitter.com/tcR4b0dB0D
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 15, 2025
'The big thing I've noticed with Stokesy is he leads with actions,' Bethell said on Sky Sports about England's Test captain.
'He's always the guy who takes the precedents and takes the situation on himself. I'll be looking to do that as much as possible.
'Obviously he does that in a bit of a different way with bowling fast and stuff like that.
'I'll be trying to do that with bat and ball and in the field as much as possible. The biggest thing is trying to lead by example.'
Bethell has received the opportunity as Harry Brook takes a breather following the ODI and T20 series against South Africa from September 2-14, the squads for which were also announced on Friday.
Assistant Marcus Trescothick will step up as head coach in Ireland, with Brendon McCullum not making the trip, reprising the role he had in England's white-ball tour of the Caribbean last winter.
'Finding out, the first emotion is pride,' Bethell said of his appointment.
'Captaining England is going to be an honour and I can't wait to do it.
'It will be a good challenge, I'm looking forward to it. I've done quite a lot of captaincy growing up in terms of Under 19s and age grade things.
'It will be different captaining England obviously, but I like to think I read the game pretty well.
'I'll be looking to take what I do with my own game and just apply that to the captaincy.
'We had a great series against West Indies at the start of the summer with Brooky as captain and I enjoyed every minute of that.
'A 6-0 whitewash was kind of unbelievable. South Africa are coming here now and we're looking to perform there as well.'
All-format quartet Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse have also been taken out of the firing line against Ireland, giving them a rest in preparation for this winter's blockbuster Ashes.
Fast bowling duo Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson are not in any of the three squads as they start focusing on this winter's tour to Australia, which gets under way on November 21 in Perth.
Over the Irish sea! 🌊 🏏
Our squad to take on Ireland in Malahide with Jacob Bethell in charge! 🫡 pic.twitter.com/r8tm1soo9N
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 15, 2025
Wood had knee surgery in March and missed the entirety of the Test series against India. It was hoped he would play some part against South Africa or Ireland but his competitive comeback may now not be until England's white-ball trip to New Zealand in October and November, just before the Ashes.
Uncapped fast bowler Sonny Baker has been rewarded for a string of encouraging showings in the past 12 months, included in the ODI squad to face the Proteas and in the group to face Ireland.
National selector Luke Wright said: 'The series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage.
'He has carried that form into this season in white-ball cricket with Hampshire and Manchester Originals and deservedly gets his opportunity.'
Seamer Matthew Potts and slow left-armer Tom Hartley have been recalled for the brief visit to Ireland but, despite a number of absentees, there is no recall for all-rounders Liam Livingstone or Sam Curran.
England ODI squad v South Africa: H Brook (captain), R Ahmed, J Archer, S Baker, T Banton, J Bethell, J Buttler, B Carse, B Duckett, W Jacks, S Mahmood, J Overton, A Rashid, J Root, J Smith.
England T20 squad v South Africa: H Brook (captain), R Ahmed, J Archer, T Banton, J Bethell, J Buttler, B Carse, L Dawson, B Duckett, W Jacks, S Mahmood, J Overton, A Rashid, P Salt, J Smith, L Wood.
England T20 squad v Ireland: J Bethell (captain), R Ahmed, S Baker, T Banton, J Buttler, L Dawson, T Hartley, W Jacks, S Mahmood, J Overton, M Potts, A Rashid, P Salt, L Wood.
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