Jacob Bethell is targeting a spot in England's Champions Trophy squad through performances on their white-ball tour to the Caribbean - and joked that he is hoping to avoid being booed when he plays against West Indies in Barbados, where he grew up.
Bethell, who turns 21 this month, made his T20I and ODI debuts against Australia in September and felt as though his first taste of international cricket "reaffirmed that I was ready" to make the step up. He kept his place in both squads for the Caribbean tour, which comprises three ODIs and three T20Is and includes three fixtures at Kensington Oval at the start of November.
"That's where my heritage is, so all my friends have already bought tickets," Bethell said at the cinch PCA awards, where he was pipped to the Young Player of the Year trophy by Jamie Smith. "They'll be in the stands waiting for me when I get there. I'm slightly worried about how the West Indian fans are going to accept me.
"I'm hoping I don't get booed too much. I've seen Steve Smith in his last few games and every time he walks out to bat, it's like the end of the world. I'm hoping that's not the case in the West Indies! I'm only saying that as a joke: there's a whole lot of support coming around so I can't imagine it's going to be anything but that."
Bethell was born and raised in Barbados but moved to the UK aged 12, attending Rugby School on a sports scholarship. He is one of three players in England's 14-man squad with links to Barbados, along with Phil Salt - who attended Harrison College, the same school as Bethell, while living there as a teenager - and Jofra Archer, who was born and raised there.
After the tour, Bethell will head to Australia to play for Melbourne Renegades in the BBL, and hopes that he will remain part of England's white-ball plans. "There's obviously the India series for England [from January] and the Champions Trophy, which is something I'll be looking to put in performances in the West Indies to then get selected for," he said.
Bethell's first seven international appearances were a mixed bag. He hit 44 off 24 at Cardiff - which included 20 runs off four balls facing Adam Zampa - and helped to square the T20I series in partnership with Liam Livingstone, but had a quieter time in the ODIs, with 85 runs and four wickets across five matches as England's No. 7.
He found the experience "full on" but felt "at home" against Australia's bowlers, who included Zampa, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc. "You're 'on' all the time," Bethell said. "I found it hard to switch off at times, but on the whole, it was pretty much everything I expected. It's hard cricket, mixed around busy travel and a lot of off-field expectations.
"A perfect example is Southampton: we were staying on the ground, and you're sleeping 50 yards away from where you're walking out to bat, so I found it quite hard to switch off then.
"One thing that was really pleasing was you see the level. You're playing against the top players in the world - and obviously [50-over] world champions - but it was a level that I didn't feel uncomfortable at, especially with the bat. I felt really at home, so it just kind of reaffirmed that I was ready for it, and ready for what's to come."
He will predominantly play white-ball cricket this winter, but Bethell's aspirations extend across all formats. "It's nice to tick off two of them, but definitely the best one is yet to come - hopefully," he said. "Test cricket has always been my dream. I know it's taken a different shape in the last three years but definitely, that's still my dream: to play Test cricket for England.
"At the minute, I'm still very adaptable in red-ball. I haven't really found a place where I've gone, 'Right, this feels like home' in terms of a place in the batting order, but I think that could be anywhere from opening the batting to No. 7 - especially with bowling offspin, I'm hoping that I can get into a team being a genuine allrounder."