London: Jacob Bethell is set to become England’s youngest-ever international men’s cricket captain after being named captain for next month’s T20 international series against Ireland. The 21-year-old Warwickshire all-rounder, regarded as one of the most promising talents in English cricket despite not having scored a professional century in any format, will lead England in a three-match T20 series in Dublin. This series is part of the team’s preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

If all goes according to plan, Bethell will break the record held by Monty Bowden, who captained England at 23 years and 144 days old in a Test match against South Africa in 1888/89. Bethell has appeared in four Test matches but has become a regular in white-ball cricket, with 13 T20 and 12 one-day international matches since his debut last September.

England selector Luke Wright praised Bethell’s leadership potential, saying, “Jacob Bethell has impressed with his leadership qualities ever since he has been with the England squads, and the series against Ireland will provide him with the opportunity to further develop those skills on the international stage.”

In his most recent international match, Bethell replaced the injured Ben Stokes in the fifth and deciding Test against India at the Oval, scoring six and five runs and failing to take a wicket with his left-arm spin as England lost by six runs, drawing the series 2-2.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan criticised the decision to unleash Bethell in such a crucial match, given his limited first-class experience this season. “Jacob Bethell, this summer has faced 67 balls in red-ball cricket, he scored 32 runs,” Vaughan said on the Stick to Cricket podcast. “Surely, if you are trying to develop a young cricketer, you’ve got to give him time to go there and play cricket. So if it does come that he has to play, at least he has had a bit of game time. To throw a kid who’s 21 out at the Oval in front of 27,000 when the series is on the line on a pitch that is doing plenty against (Mohammed) Siraj. I thought it was diabolical. I thought it was unfair on the player.”

With inputs from AFP