New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS): After roping in Joe Root and Dinesh Karthik, Paarl Royals have revealed the England duo of all-rounder Jacob Bethell and batter Sam Hain as their newest overseas signings ahead of next year’s SA20 Season 3.
Bethell was born and raised in Barbados and won a sports scholarship to the Rugby School in Warwickshire at the age of 13. Having started as a spin bowler who could bat, Bethell moved up the age groups at Warwickshire with his all-round attributes.
He was also part of the England Men's U19 team becoming runners-up in the 2022 U19 World Cup in the West Indies. After that, Bethell has been involved with his county across all three formats, impressing both with the bat and ball. In 38 T20s so far, he has amassed 676 runs at a strike rate of over 140 with the majority of his runs coming in boundaries.
In this year’s T20 Blast, Bethell has scored 356 runs at a strike rate of 155.45, apart from picking up six wickets at an economy of just 6.78. In the ongoing The Hundred, the left-hander is second on the list of most runs scored with 111 runs in three matches for Birmingham Phoenix.
Meanwhile, Hain, who made his England ODI debut last year and has two appearances so far, has been one of the top performers for Warwickshire across all formats. Known for his low-risk shot selection, the ability to find the gaps, rotate strike, and play spin well, Hain has scored 4539 runs in 155 T20 matches at a strike rate of 133.95, including a century and 34 fifties.
"Both Jacob (Bethell) and Sam (Hain) are highly rated individuals as their recent performances have shown and will add to the depth of our squad. Jacob's explosive style of play and game awareness are assets that will prove to be extremely useful in the conditions we play in, in the SA20, both at home in Paarl and away.”
“Meanwhile, Sam's hard-hitting ability to make an instant impact with the bat has really come to the fore recently, and we are all very excited to see what he can deliver for us at Paarl. We are looking forward to having them both with the Royals for Season 3," said Kumar Sangakkara, Royals' Director of Cricket, in a statement.