Gower urges – David Gower says Jacob Bethell should come home from the IPL early to prepare properly for England’s Test summer, questioning how centrally contracted players can be tied more strongly to the Indian Premier League than to national duties. He also backs England
England’s first Test assignment of the summer is already under scrutiny. not because of what’s on the pitch. but because of what pulls players away from it.. David Gower. speaking at a Lord’s Taverners event. made it clear one issue still “doesn’t sit right” with him: the way IPL commitments can outweigh preparation for Test cricket.
“Well, it’s the Indian Premier League, basically,” the former England captain said.. “There are restrictions placed on people who take the Indian rupee or rather the US dollar.” He added that the tournament is “phenomenally successful” and growing fast. but argued it “will brook no compromise” when it comes to player availability.. For Gower. the core problem is contractual strength—specifically England players on central contracts being “apparently contracted more strongly to the IPL.”
His frustration is aimed at Jacob Bethell, positioned in the Test squad as a successor in the No 3 role.. Gower pointed to the build-up for the challenge at Lord’s against New Zealand on June 4. saying Bethell’s schedule “could involve flying in from the IPL final with Royal Challengers Bangalore 48 hours earlier.” In that window. Gower argues the Test summer preparation should come first.
He expanded on what he believes the player’s priorities should be.. “If Kevin thinks you’re going to learn a lot of stuff sitting in a room with some great players. exchanging ideas and all the rest of it. fine.. Get paid accordingly,” Gower said.. “I have nothing against that.” But he followed with a different standard for someone facing a Test series: “But if you’re basically warming a bench and you’ve got a Test series coming up?”
Gower’s stance also connects to what he wants Bethell to protect most: the chance to make the No 3 position work for England.. “The last time I saw Jacob. he was making a brilliant hundred in Sydney and that was one of the absolute highlights of our time in Australia last winter. ” he said. before adding that Bethell’s long-term prospects are “no doubt incredibly bright.” Even so. “making that No 3 slot work for him for England’s Test team is still. to me. the most important thing for him.”
He floated a “common-sense compromise” built around negotiation with the franchise.. “If I were the ECB or him. I’d have tried very hard to come to some sort of negotiated agreement with his franchise to say. ‘Well. would you mind if he just came home slightly early and prepared himself for the Test match?’” Gower said.. “That, to me, would be a common-sense compromise.”
The argument goes beyond simply catching up on fitness or time zones.. Gower said he would prefer a player to keep his match rhythm sharp. explaining that even without scoring. “you still get into the rhythm of the game.” He connected that to the nature of modern cricket. where turning up for Tests involves repeated switching—“the travel. the locations. the formats”—and insisted it’s not “something brand new.”
For him. Ben Stokes offers the counterpoint he keeps returning to: “people like Ben Stokes… identified his priority. which is being ready for England at all costs.” Gower acknowledged that the ECB “don’t have the power to necessarily force people to do that. ” and described any attempt to force it as “slightly old-fashioned.” Still. he said anyone who has played for England—“let alone 100 times”—has valued what it means to play for the country.
That IPL impact hasn’t stopped at Bethell. Gower also noted that Jofra Archer “will miss the first Test against New Zealand due to his IPL commitments,” linking it to the broader scheduling squeeze created by the tournament.
While the IPL question is where his irritation is sharpest. Gower’s wider view of England’s post-Ashes reboot is more approving.. He said the appointment of an Australian. Marcus North. as the new national selector has made sense: “You never lose your Australian background. but he’s been in England a long time now. he’s a wise head. knows cricket and I wish him well.”
He described England’s squad decisions as “not wholesale” but “significant. ” framing them around the belief that some players weren’t improving as hoped.. On Zak Crawley. Gower said England “eventually… realised that Zak Crawley wasn’t going to get any better.” His reasoning was blunt: after “64 Test matches. ” Crawley is still averaging 31. and Gower suggested the choice is between “stupidity or stubbornness or something in between. ” before concluding: “But you should be better.”
Gower also argued that a top-order role demands a specific balance: the ability “to smash the first ball in the Ashes for four,” while also having the ability to stay in and build—“for three or four hours”—to turn starts into bigger totals.
Beyond the Test XI, he pointed to England’s willingness to look at county cricket performers.. “All the eggs in one basket is never going to work. ” Gower said. and he was “very happy” they acted on the message by seeking players who are “doing good things.” As an example. he singled out Emilio Gay. saying Gay “has made a stack of runs. made the headlines. and he’s earned himself a place.”
Gower then linked that approach to how he believes England should structure their top seven.. “The other strand of that same story is that you don’t need a top seven all going hell for leather. ” he said. adding that the ideal is “five doing that and two who are going to hang around” so there’s enough stability to survive tight phases.
He argued that balance also helps England in the most difficult stretches: “so that you can see through the tight situations. force the pace of the game when you’re on top. and not just collapse in a heap on a bad day.” On Zak Crawley. he repeated that dropping him was “correct. ” and said he approves of the wider moves after England’s “humiliating 4-1 Ashes defeat by Australia over the winter.”
The uncomfortable scheduling realities for the Test summer also feed into Gower’s broader warning about complacency.. He said Australia’s weaknesses in the previous winter tour were “obvious. ” and argued that because of them England were “meant to win down there.” But he added that if the roles were reversed—“if New Zealand had gone to Australia instead. New Zealand would have won”—because of how New Zealand “are that sort of team.”
Gower tied that style to cohesion. describing New Zealand as “a collective” and saying their approach helps them “make up for apparent shortages of world-class talent elsewhere in their XIs by playing together as a unit.” He singled out the team spirit as “outstanding. ” and named Kane Williamson as “of the highest level. ” before landing on his point that England shouldn’t treat the summer opener as a given.
Taken together. Gower’s complaints and approvals line up like two sides of the same schedule: England’s post-Ashes choices aim at balance and performance. yet the IPL contract friction he described—turning Bethell’s June 4 Lord’s return into a potentially rushed jump from an IPL final 48 hours earlier. alongside Archer’s absence from that same opening—shows how Test plans can be forced to bend around the calendar.
For now, England’s first Test against New Zealand is set to arrive with new faces and a refreshed direction behind the scenes, while the question of how firmly IPL commitments can override Test preparation remains the one point Gower says “doesn’t sit right” with him.
David Gower Jacob Bethell IPL Royal Challengers Bangalore England New Zealand Lord’s June 4 Jofra Archer Zak Crawley Marcus North Ashes Ben Stokes Emilio Gay