By Stephan Shemilt, BBC Chief Cricket Writer

This was an unusual situation for England. Going back to Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence or Alex Lees would have raised eyebrows, as would uncapped options like Ben McKinney and James Rew.

They settled on another guess in Bethell, who is clearly talented but so inexperienced and without a real body of work in professional cricket.

For all the talk of building a battery of fast bowlers, the batting now looks curious: Ollie Pope is out of form, Ben Stokes is making his way back and Jordan Cox will make his New Zealand debut.

Now the next man in line doesn’t have a first-class hundred. If England build to the Ashes, it’s worth remembering that their only win there in the last 30 years was built on a stack of runs.

It’s not all about the Ashes either.

In the heavy loss of the decisive Test in Pakistan, England traveled the field. A team of young, unshakable characters is a positive thing, but sometimes you need players to take the game by the throat.

Bairstow, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson would be happy to enter a fray. Without them, Stokes looked short of a few fighters.

It’s admirable that Stokes and Brendon McCullum are revamping the age profile of England’s squad, and county cricket is very different to the international game, so choosing attributes rather than record has merit.

Still, there is a nagging doubt that England may have a few too many boys and not enough men.