Former cricketer Butcher questions Bethell's captaincy, says England's squad selection shows "lack of respect" for Ireland

London [UK], August 20 (ANI): Former cricketer Mark Butcher believes Jacob Bethell's promotion to the temporary captaincy position for the three T20Is agaisnt Ireland is "hard to explain" and shows a "lack of respect" to the hosts.

With Bethell at the helm, England will travel to Dublin for the white-ball affair, which is slated to begin on September 17. During the tour, England will miss its high-profile players, including designated captain Harry Brook, who has been rested for the high-stakes rivalry against Australia in the upcoming Ashes.

In Brook's absence, Bethell was handed the captaincy mantle, making him the youngest to lead England in an international fixture at the age of 21, taking Monty Bowden's record, who served as the skipper at the age of 23 in 1889.

With just 29 international appearances under Bethell's belt, Butcher struggled to digest the young all-rounder's surge in the pecking order.

"It's one of those ones that's quite difficult to explain, even to people like me, let alone people who have a passing interest in England's cricket teams. And therefore I don't really know what to make of it," Butcher said while speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast.

"He's played next to no cricket all summer. He's 21 and he's had an entire English summer where he has been fit and has played little to no cricket of any meaning whatsoever, and here he is as England's youngest ever captain," Butcher added.

Bethell announced himself to the world during his Test debut in New Zealand. With his swashbuckling performances at number three, before being involved in England's white-ball campaign and then opening alongside Virat Kohli in the Royal Challengers Bengaluru maiden IPL-winning campaign.

He had to sit out of England's lone Test against Zimbabwe due to an injury and only returned to the final XI for the fifth Test against India as captain Ben Stokes was forced to the sidelines, courtesy of a shoulder problem.

"Whether or not it was necessary for him to miss yet more red-ball cricket and captain the England side in Ireland, and quite frankly they've stripped out all the main players from that series anyway, with notable exceptions like Jordan Cox and Liam Livingstone - who only recently captained an England white-ball team on a tour of the West Indies," Butcher said.

"So, was it necessary for Jacob Bethell to take on this role and play in those games in the absence of more meaningful cricket, giving what's coming up with the Ashes? I think there's a very strong argument that that is absolutely the case yes," he added.

In his unscathing verdict, Butcher feels England's selection for the tour shows a lack of respect for Ireland and their cricket.

"It shows a bit of a lack of respect for them [Ireland] and their cricket. We're not in the business of making people feel good about themselves, but it also says, 'this is a bit of a throwaway three matches that no one is really that interested in and we'll do what we jolly well like and not be too worried about whatever the consequences might be," Butcher said. (ANI)

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