England cricketer Jacob Bethell turned heads on the fourth day of the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney, with a second innings century, helping his side erase the 183-run first innings deficit. Coming out to bat at number three, Bethell showed immense composure and kept the Australian bowlers at bay during his knock. This not only turned out to be his first Test ton, he crossed the 100-run mark in first-class cricket for the first time, becoming the first batter in 33 years to do so in an Ashes series.
Ian Healy was the last batter to score his maiden first-class hundred in Australia vs England Test matches back in 1993. Notably, Bethell is only the second England player to register his first hundred in red-ball cricket in the Ashes after Jack Russell who did it in 1989 at the Old Trafford.
Maiden FC hundred in AUS vs ENG Tests
Charles Bannerman (AUS), Melbourne, 1877
Billy Murdoch (AUS), The Oval, 1880
Percy McDonnell (AUS), Sydney, 1882
Harry Graham (AUS), Lord’s, 1893
Jack Russell (ENG), Old Trafford, 1989
Ian Healy (AUS), Old Trafford, 1993
Jacob Bethell (ENG), Sydney, 2026
Overall, Jacob Bethell is the fifth England player to score his first-ever first-class ton in a Test match. Henry Wood, Jack Russell, Stuart Broad and Gus Atkinson are the ones who did so earlier.
England players with maiden FC hundred in a Test match
Henry Wood vs SA, Cape Town, 1892
Jack Russell vs AUS, Old Trafford, 1989
Stuart Broad vs PAK, Lord’s, 2010
Gus Atkinson vs SL, Lord’s, 2024
Jacob Bethell vs AUS, Sydney, 2026
Has Bethell's ton closed the door of the national team for Ollie Pope?
Jacob Bethell has done well since coming into the team at the expense of Ollie Pope after the third Ashes Test. The left-hander did well in the run-chase of the Boxing Day Test and has now slammed his maiden Test century in the second innings of the Sydney Test which seals his place at number three in the next Test series for England.
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