Jacob Bethell is England’s T20 vice-captain despite role in Harry Brook nightclub incident
At the age of 22, Jacob Bethell’s final destiny has already been marked out: the full-time England captaincy. He already performed the role as a stand-in against Ireland last September, becoming the youngest ever man to do the job. England expect that Bethell will ultimately lead his country on a permanent basis. An indication of the regard in which he is held is that he is the unofficial vice-captain in the Twenty20 World Cup, a position he has informally held since the white-ball tour of New Zealand that preceded the Ashes.
While England did not name an official vice-captain, should Harry Brook be injured for a game, or have to leave the field during a match, Bethell will assume the captaincy. Given the alternatives – Sam Curran, who has captained in the Indian Premier League; Phil Salt, who has played 328 professional T20 games and led England against Australia in 2024; and even Jos Buttler, Brook’s predecessor – this is an empathic endorsement of Bethell’s leadership qualities.
Jacob Bethell
“I think it would be something in the future I’d like to do and have a crack at,” Bethell said about the captaincy. “But I can’t say it’s on the top of my list right now.”
If Bethell’s debut series as captain – the T20 series in Ireland – was low key, the early hints were that leadership did not disrupt his relaxed air. England will have been pleased: their need for Bethell to become a genuine leadership candidate is pressing. In both England’s red and white-ball sides, there is a dearth of strong contenders to be the next captain. Such a lack of candidates made it harder for England to sack Brook after he clashed with a bouncer outside a nightclub in Wellington in the early hours of November 1.
While Brook initially said that he went to the nightclub alone, Telegraph Sport revealed Bethell and Josh Tongue were also involved in England’s notorious night out that evening before a one-day international. Bethell is currently being investigated by the Cricket Regulator over the events of that evening in Wellington. He has already been fined by the England management over the affair. The ODI began at 2:00pm the next day. Bethell made just 11 as England collapsed to 44-5, before eventually losing by two wickets to fall to a 3-0 series defeat.
“We obviously made a mistake and we’re sorry for that,” Bethell said, speaking to the media for the first time since his full involvement that evening was revealed. “But it’s still an ongoing process, so I can’t really say too much.”
Bethell was unsurprised by the focus on England’s off-field antics in New Zealand and Australia, accepting the scrutiny as inevitable for international cricketers.
“You know the media’s always out there. So not really surprised at all. I’ve travelled pretty much since I was 12 years old, being away from home. So I’m pretty self-sufficient.”
Such an equable temperament helped Bethell during a curious 2025. After beginning the year seemingly as England’s incumbent Test No.3, following an outstanding maiden series in New Zealand, Bethell spent most of the year carrying drinks for his country or Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Overall, Bethell played just four first-class games in 2025, alongside 31 T20s and nine ODIs. He only took the field in a match in 55 days over the entire year and later admitted that he should have played more. If there was a sense of a wasted last year, 2026 already feels very different. In Sydney, Bethell’s 154 secured his long-term spot as England’s Test No.3. The No.3 role is novel for Bethell in T20. He had only batted in the position twice in professional cricket until first being deployed at three by England last year. - The Telegraph
But, with 143 runs at an average of 35.8, Bethell is comfortably England’s leading run-scorer so far in the T20 World Cup. These returns have come despite a cut Bethell sustained fielding against West Indies; he has not been fit to bowl his left-arm spin since, and will be assessed ahead of England’s clash with Sri Lanka on Sunday. Bethell’s feats on the pitch are giving him increasing confidence to give tactical advice to Brook, who is a close friend.
“I always try to think like a captain wherever I am on the field – just, angles and what bowler I would bowl and all that kind of stuff,” Bethell said.
“We actually more chat off the pitch around stuff. I’ll just give him a nod if I’m out at deep midwicket or deep cover and he will just laugh at me if it’s a position we’ve spoken about, or something that’s worked.”
Yet, if his career develops as England envisage, Bethell will not always be a confidant for the captain. Instead, he will be tasked with making the final decisions himself.