Jacob Bethell is the future for England cricket but here's why he should be kept waiting for Test call, writes NASSER HUSSAIN

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

England's new white-ball era under Harry Brook got off to an excellent start on Thursday. When I arrived at Edgbaston and looked at the team sheet, especially the batting line-up, my initial thought was, 'Crikey, how have this side lost seven in a row and slipped to No 8 in the world?'
Everyone has been writing off our white-ball team. But I never viewed England as a side lacking in talent. They have just been underachieving and needed a reset, which you often get with a change of captain.
I have seen some people comparing the situation to the Eoin Morgan reset in 2015, when they also started by scoring 400 at
Edgbaston against New Zealand. I would be careful with that comparison because this West Indies side are ranked ninth in the world and really struggling. One good game doesn't change everything for England.
But what Thursday did prove was that there is undeniable talent out there, it is just up to Brook and Brendon McCullum to get the best out of them, just like Ben Stokes and McCullum have done with the Test team.
Whatever the format, this England regime have always selected very well. They are very good at talent-spotting and they have certainly spotted a talent in Jacob Bethell.
As soon as Jos Buttler stood down, I said I would give it to Brook, Nasser Hussain writes
I am told he is very organised — not just with the way he bats, but in everything he does. He is meticulous in his preparation. When I was England captain, I always
looked for that in young players coming into the side. Michael Vaughan and Marcus
Trescothick were two who turned up and prepared for a game exactly how you'd want them to. When you add that characteristic to the raw talent that Bethell has, he is clearly going to have a long career in all formats for England. He is the future.
For that reason, you might want to get him back into the Test team sooner rather than later. My view would be to keep him waiting. I would find it very difficult to leave someone out who has just got a big hundred in a Test match for someone who is yet to score a professional hundred. But if they went the other way and played Bethell, I would completely understand.
As for Brook's captaincy, the early signs are positive. As soon as Jos Buttler stood down, I said I would give it to Brook because he is not someone who is easily fazed.
He does not overthink or overcomplicate things in life, not a bad habit for a captain, especially when the pressure is on.
I looked down from above at Edgbaston on Thursday and there were a lot of people trying to help Brook at times. At this stage, against this West Indies side, I would just leave him alone and let him show everyone who is in charge. I like the way he stands at mid-off, so he can be in constant communication with his bowler, as opposed to when Buttler kept wicket as captain and had a long way to go to talk to his.
He also thought clearly about the ground dimensions at Edgbaston, which was something Morgan was very good at. Today in Cardiff, it is short straight but big square, so he will want to get his seamers to bowl it into the surface.
I still think England need a left-arm seamer to give them more variety, whether that is Luke Wood or someone else, and they need to introduce a left-arm spinner, be it Tom Hartley or Liam Dawson, with next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka in mind.
When picking their next squads, England need to keep an eye out for their future wrist spinner
I'd also like to see some succession planning for Adil Rashid. When Buttler handed him his 150th ODI cap at Edgbaston, he told him in the huddle that he was probably the most irreplaceable player in the side.
That is all well and good, but you do eventually have to replace him, whether that's because he is injured or you are just thinking about a few years down the line. When picking their next squads, they need to keep an eye out for their future wrist spinner.
Another thing which is going to determine the success of this side is player availability. With two iconic Test series against India and Australia coming up, I will be intrigued to see how much white-ball cricket England's red-ball stars play this year.
For people like me, the Ashes is the absolute priority, but England need to be successful in ICC events again. You can't rock up to next year's T20 World Cup and say, 'We had the Ashes so we didn't focus on this tournament enough'. That will no longer wash with fans.
It is going to be fascinating to see how Rob Key, McCullum, Stokes and Brook strike that balance between the different formats.