'I should have played more' in 2025, says Bethell

England all-rounder Jacob Bethell says he "probably should have played a bit more" during his testing first home summer in international cricket.

The 21-year-old impressed in his first Test series last winter, but has only played a bit-part role this summer.

Having missed the one-off Test against Zimbabwe while at the Indian Premier League, Bethell lost his place in England's Test XI and was the spare batter across the first four matches against India before coming in for the fifth.

He only played one County Championship match for Warwickshire in between and, as a result, has only faced 387 balls in all formats this summer compared to 1,480 in 2024, leading to questions around England's management of the talented left-hander.

"If I'm honest, when I wasn't playing in those Tests, I should probably have played a bit more [in domestic cricket]," Bethell told Sky Sports.

"But I'll take that on and learn from it. I've got a lot of cricket ahead now so maybe that gap was quite nice for me."

Bethell, who will become England's youngest captain when he leads an under-strength squad in Ireland later this month, looked scratchy and out of form against India, making six and five in his two innings.

He then played a full part in The Hundred for Birmingham Phoenix before returning to duty in the one-day international series against South Africa.

Bethell was out for one in the first match at Headingley but found form with 58 from 40 balls in the second ODI at Lord's, having been pushed up to number four.

"I really enjoyed it," he added. "It wasn't pre-planned up until a few minutes before.

"They had two left-arm spinners so it was my job as a left-hander to go out and show a bit of intent against them, but it ended up being the off-spinner I felt was easiest to play.

"But it was a bit of a show to try to push the game on a bit."