England make latest surprise selection as they call up Jacob Bethell for Test tour of New Zealand as batting cover for Jamie Smith

England have added to their list of surprise selections by picking the uncapped Jacob Bethell in their Test squad for next month’s tour of New Zealand.

Warwickshire’s Bethell has featured seven times at one-day and Twenty20 international levels in recent weeks, impressing with a 24-ball 44 to help guide England to victory over Australia in Cardiff in just his second appearance.

The 21-year-old will be included in the party named later this week as a ‘batting bolter’, covering the absence of Jamie Smith for the final two Tests of three. Smith told Mail Sport earlier this month that he would be missing some of the tour to witness the birth of his son in early December.

Jordan Cox, of Essex, was the spare squad player during the Test series in Pakistan and has been lined up to take the wicketkeeping gloves when Smith is unavailable.

Bethell is yet to hit a first-class hundred and has a modest career average of 25.44, but is the latest example of a player being identified by the England hierarchy of managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes for what they are capable of rather than what they have already achieved.

Bethell will travel as batting cover for Jamie Smith (left), who will leave during the tour to attend the birth of his child

Ben Stokes’ side are looking to bounce back from a disappointing defeat by Pakistan

Shoaib Bashir and Tom Hartley were picked on this basis for the Test tour of India earlier this year while the introductions of Smith, his Surrey colleague Gus Atkinson and Durham’s Brydon Carse were to some degree because the selectors felt their games might be more suited Test over county cricket.

Barbados-born Bethell is currently on England’s limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, where he will be joined by Cox and Rehan Ahmed, who are travelling on from their involvement in Pakistan.