Ashes | Twitter in awe as Bethell's family erupts in emotions after prodigy announces himself with maiden ton

Today at 12:15 PM

As precocious as talent is, for a young soul it can be a burden too great to do justice to. Such was the fear when England introduced a raw Jacob Bethell to the Test set-up with no numbers to show he belonged, yet the rookie put all those doubts to rest in Sydney and his family celebrated like it.

England's hopes were kept alive on Day 4 of the fifth Ashes Test at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground by a one-man show from the prodigous Jacob Bethell, after Austaralia earned themselves a first innings lead of 183. The youngster walked out in the first over after Mitchell Starc pinned Zak Crawley plumb for a duck and with the deck showing sings of inconsistent bounce and some severe seam movement, a tall task awaited Bethell. Yet, the 22-year-old batted with utmost clarity, taking his time through tricky spells while targetting the weaker links in the attack, and soon enough he found himself level with his previous Test best of 96 hunting for a maiden first-class ton. Mad scenes ensued.

As Bethell approached his late 90s, the Aussies hunkered down with discipline to create a few nervous moments for the youngsters, and some sketchy abandoned calls for a run compounded the situation's tension. Yet, Bethell kept his calm and waited for his moment, which eventually arrived against the off-spinners of Beau Webster in the 50th over. On the third ball, the southpaw charged down the track to a floated length delivery and dispatched it towards the cow corner for a one bounce affair to bring up a groundbreaking ton, making him the youngest to the mark in Test cricket since former English skipper Alistair Cook nearly two decades ago. Bethell immediately took off his helmet and turned towards hs family seated in the stands to acknowledge them with a raised bat, his eyes betraying the emotions behind the gesture. However, there was no need to guess what the family was feeling in the stands, as his mother, father, and sister cheered in wild jubilation with a wide grin plastered on their faces, before tears came flooding in the eyes of Bethell senior.

Twitterati was thoroughly moved by the poignant scenes and took to social media to celebrate the same.

Maiden century!

A maiden Test century for Jacob Bethell! What a way to do it 🤩 | |
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau)

Dream!

Every boys dream to make their family proud and our star boy jacob bethell did in its purest way with a maiden century in

ashesdream come true moment

Players like joe root struggle to score century in australia for so many years but jacob takes one series
— Eshwar (@ej_memezz__)

Emotional!

Emotions From JACOB BETHELL'S Family

Family reactions > everything ❤️
— Scotch of Sports 🇮🇳 (@The_Aawara)

Century!

Maiden Test Century For Jacob Bethell.
— coverxthetics (@coverxthetics)

Moment!

This is exactly why we love cricket! ❤️🥺 The years of sacrifice and hard work reflected in his father’s tears. A moment Jacob Bethell and his family will cherish forever. Beautiful scenes at the SCG! 🏏🇦🇺🇬🇧
— Bishwajit Satpathy (@ImBishwajit9)

Outstanding performance!

🚨MEET THE 22 YEAR'S OLD JACOB BETHELL.🚨

- His performance in Ashes.

79(132), 6(14), 10 (23), 40 (46), 1(5), 118(119)

- The reaction of Jacob’s family was priceless. ❤️

The Star in making.⭐
— Sam (@Cricsam01)

Emotional!

JACOB BETHELL FATHER EMOTIONAL AFTER HIS 1ST HUNDRED.🥹❤️

- A priceless moment for Jacob bethell family
— TRS (@KingPinT20)

100!

Maiden Test Hundred by 22 years old Jacob Bethell, in the Ashes, against Australia. 🔥

A knock that keeps England’s hopes alive in the match.

The scenes in the stands say it all, pure joy, proud smiles, emotional family moments.

— Anant (@ImAnant_45)

Hundred!