England sensation Jacob Bethell made history when he walked out to lead the Three Lions in the opener of the three-match T20I series against Ireland today (September 17). The batting all-rounder became the youngest to lead England in an international match, going past Monty Bowden.
Bethell achieved the feat at 21 years and 329 days, eclipsing Bowden, who was bestowed with the captaincy reins at an age of 23 years and 144 days.
Notably, prior to Bethell, the record for England’s youngest T20I captain was held by the legendary opener Alastair Cook. He was 24 years and 325 days old when he led the team against South Africa in Centurion on November 15, 2009.
Let’s take a look at where Jacob Bethell stands in the overall list of youngest T20I captains amongst full member teams.
| Player | Country | Age | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qasim Akram | Pakistan | 20y 306d | 3 Oct 2023 |
| Rashid Khan | Afghanistan | 20y 359d | 14 Sep 2019 |
| Prosper Utseya | Zimbabwe | 21y 247d | 28 Nov 2006 |
| Kane Williamson | New Zealand | 21y 328d | 1 Jul 2012 |
| Jacob Bethell | England | 21y 329d | 17 Sep 2025 |
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The reason behind the dynamic left-hander being given captaincy duties is due to the unavailability of regular white-ball captain Harry Brook. Brook is missing the Ireland series after being rested following a hectic summer.
He played all six white-ball games against West Indies in June, followed by a gruelling five-match Test series against India. After that, he went straight into The Hundred 2025, and then featured in the entire white-ball series against South Africa comprising three ODIs and as many T20Is.
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