Jacob Bethell withdraws from The Hundred with knee injury

England all-rounder Jacob Bethell has withdrawn from the 2026 edition of The Hundred after sustaining a knee injury. The 22-year-old underwent an MRI scan on his right knee on July 20, and the England medical team is awaiting the results before determining the extent of the injury and the length of his recovery.

Bethell picked up the injury during England's recently concluded ODI series against India. Despite the setback, he produced an outstanding all-round performance in the third ODI at Lord's Cricket Ground, scoring 91 runs and claiming two wickets to help England secure a 2-1 series victory. As a precaution, he has now been ruled out of The Hundred, where he was set to captain Birmingham Phoenix.

The left-handed batter has become one of England's most promising multi-format players over the past year and is currently expected to bat at No. 3 in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan, which begins next month. England will be hoping the injury does not require surgery, as his absence would create a significant void in the middle order and force the team to rethink its plans ahead of the series.

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The Hundred was also expected to provide valuable leadership experience for Bethell, who is regarded as one of England's future captains. He previously led England during a T20I series against Ireland last year and is viewed as a potential long-term leadership option. With concerns over managing Harry Brook's workload across all three formats, Bethell has emerged as an alternative candidate for future captaincy responsibilities. In his place Donovan Ferreira will lead the side in The Hundred.

The sixth edition of The Hundred gets underway on Tuesday at The Oval, with MI London taking on Manchester Super Giants. Both teams enter the season under new identities following the ownership auction, with MI London joining the Ambani family's global cricket portfolio, while Manchester Super Giants are owned by Sanjiv Goenka, who also owns the IPL and SA20 franchises of the same name.

Meanwhile, former England cricketer Ben Stokes has once again opted to skip The Hundred and will instead represent Durham in the One-Day Cup.