Welsh Fire’s Jacob Bethell: ‘My dream is to play for England in all formats’

The squads for the Hundred were burped out on Tuesday, two days from the start of the County Championship season. There was a smattering of stardust through Australia’s World Cup-winning women, the odd glaring omission such as David Warner, and a remarkable elevation for county pros such as Liam Dawson, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Laurie Evans with top-tier deals worth £125,000 apiece.

But lower down in the men’s draft a couple of names also stood out. Rehan Ahmed and Jacob Bethell were among the young England cricketers who finished runners-up in this year’s Under-19s World Cup and have now secured £50,000 and £30,000 contracts at Southern Brave and Welsh Fire respectively, despite neither having fully broken through in county cricket just yet.

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Ahmed, a 17-year-old leg-spinner of some considerable promise, has played only seven Royal London Cup games for Leicestershire, while Bethell, an 18-year-old top‑order batter who bowls left-arm spin, featured in a handful of games across all three formats for Warwickshire last year but is still studying for his A-levels – business and PE – as he tries to make his mark as a professional.

News of his Hundred deal filtered through during the net session at Edgbaston but, though beaming about it, it is heartening that this young left-hander – one who, aged 11, was described by Brian Lara as being better than himself – is also fiercely ambitious about a Test career.

“It was quite unexpected to get a Hundred contract,” says Bethell. “I put my name in not thinking much would come from it. I guess the Under-19s World Cup was a big platform that pushed some of our names forward, playing tournament cricket