England pick West Indies player in U-19 World Cup squad; appoint him vice-captain

The trend of England cricket team recruiting cricketers born outside England has continued. This time, the England cricket team has added a player born in Barbados to its U-19 World Cup squad and even named him the vice-captain of the team. 

England is relying a lot on the players born outside England for their success in international cricket. Players like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer, Jason Roy, Tom Curran and several other current England stars were not born in England. 

The latest addition to the long list of players is Jacob Bethell who was born in Barbados but will play the vice-captain’s role for England U-19s in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2022. 

Jamaica Gleaner reported that Jacob Bethell did his schooling in Barbados and even played for the West Indies team in the U-15 championship a few years ago. He is the holder of a UK Passport, which makes him eligible to play for the England team. 

He is the deputy to England U-19 team captain Tom Prest in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2022. 

England team struggles without its non-English players in Australia 

The senior England cricket team is currently on a tour of Australia as they are taking on arch-rivals Australia in the Ashes series. The Ashes is a traditional 5-Test series played between England and Australia for decades. 

Normally, the fans witness close matches in the Ashes. However, this year’s Ashes series has been completely one-sided. Australia are leading by 3-0, and it could be because England have only one non-England player - Stokes in the squad. 

“I don't think I've seen a worse-performing team in Australia than what I've seen over the last three games. We've been through this in Australia. England might need to have a look at how they can make their conditions more suitable to ours,” Ricky Ponting said about team England.