Jackson Barrett: Jacob Bethell looked a mirror image of Michael Clarke in stunning break-out knock

Blonde hair, long-sleeve shirt, stylish stroke-maker with tricky left-arm orthodox and a bit of cheek. The SCG has seen one of these before. But this wasn’t Michael Clarke, it was the coming of age of Jacob Bethell. The English young gun — unproven before his Sydney spectacular on Wednesday — had the batting legends in the press box gushing over one of the best Ashes innings by a tourist the rivalry has ever seen. Cricket has become sensitised to batting madness. Think Travis Head pasting tons at faster than a run-a-ball, or Ben Stokes charging down totals single-handedly and on one leg. But this was an innings crafted brick-by-brick with textbook strokes, piercing square drives and a temperament well and truly beyond Bethell’s 22 years and well beyond that of his spasmodic teammates. When he has made plenty more Test centuries batting at No.3 for England, this will be looked back on as the pudding that proved all the talk around his prodigal talent and his early selection. There were on-drives that you could have ripped out of a textbook and cuts and square-drives with the type of control that could have been a flipped version of Clarke’s highlights package. “What a knock we’ve just witnessed, it’s been flawless,” batting doyen Ricky Ponting told Channel 7’s coverage. “It’s been classy, it’s been brutal at times. Some of his stroke play has been as good as we’ve seen from anyone. Front and back foot.” It’s the balance brute and guile that told us all about Bethell as a player. Channel 7’s Trent Copeland pointed out the best athletes in the world don’t change under pressure. Bethell was forced to graft in the 90s, starved of strike and facing a fresh Mitchell Starc. His method never changed and then when the chance presented in the form of part-time off-spinner Beau Webster he backed himself to go over the top and finish the job. Bethell is the great find out of England’s summer tour of comical woe.