Matt Maher: England focus on future - but what about the present?

That is even true in cricket, dominated though it is by statistics and where the first measure of any player is always to look at the figures. How many runs have they scored? How many wickets have they taken? What is their average?

So the fact Jacob Bethell only averages just over 25 with the bat in first-class cricket and has never scored a century should not mean his call-up to the England Test squad this week is instantly dismissed as another head-scratching decision by the selectors.

Anyone who has watched Bethell in action will tell you the 21-year-old is a player of considerable talent who experienced something of a breakthrough year with Warwickshire in the County Championship, even if the numbers might not immediately suggest it.

The 466 runs he scored in 16 innings included several important knocks in tough conditions to help the Bears out of trouble. He looked a batter who had taken a step forward and for many regular observers his obvious ability reaffirmed their belief he is a player with a very bright future.

Just how quickly the future should arrive is, of course, the key question? Even the most enthusiastic of Bethell supporters would have to concede his Test call-up feels rather premature, even allowing for the fact that barring injury or illness is biggest role in New Zealand will be carrying the drinks.

Bethell has himself admitted he is still developing as a player and yet to really find his place in the Warwickshire order. There has been talk he might be asked to open for England, if required. Doesn’t it all seem a little rushed?

But then picking on potential has become standard policy for England’s selectors, who no longer seem to trust the County Championship as a developing ground for Test players. 

That is the point Bethell’s selection hammers home more than anything. There are many other players, with more experience and better averages, who must surely now be resigned to never getting their chance. Bethell’s Bears team-mate Sam Hain is an obvious example.

Focusing so much on the future is a risky tactic for a team which has delivered some rather underwhelming results in the present, particularly in series away from home. Time will tell if it works.