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Bethell has proved he belongs, says Stokes

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Jacob Bethell has proved he belongs in international cricket with his runs against New Zealand, according to England captain Ben Stokes.

Bethell, 21, was given a Test debut batting at number three for the first time in his first-class career in the series opener in Christchurch and made an unbeaten 50.

The left-hander followed up with 96 in the series-clinching 323-run win in the second Test in Wellington.

“I’m pretty sure there were a lot of doubters about the role we brought him into for that first Test match,” Stokes told BBC Sport.

“You’ve got a young lad with so much potential and so much talent, why not let him go out there and expose himself to Test cricket at its toughest?”

In Wellington, Bethell fell four runs short of becoming the youngest England batter for 85 years to score a Test century when he edged behind off Tim Southee.

“I was devastated for him to not get that three figures,” added Stokes. “I walked in and I said to him: ‘It’s only four runs, isn’t it?’

“His response was: ‘Yeah, but it would have been flair if I smacked that through the covers to bring it up.’ Class. I think he’s proved a lot and proved why we rate him so highly.”

Bethell’s chance was originally earmarked for Jordan Cox. Cox was due to keep wicket in place of regular gloveman Jamie Smith, who has missed the tour on paternity leave.

When Cox broke his thumb in the nets, regular number three Ollie Pope covered as keeper and slid to number six, opening up the slot for Bethell.

Before the Wellington Test, Stokes said England will revert to their usual formation in the home summer, with Pope at three and Smith keeping wicket.

But Bethell’s success has given England options. He could stay at three or open in place of the struggling Zak Crawley. Pope could retain the gloves, giving flexibility to where Smith bats.

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Havertz online abuse has terrible consequences – Arteta

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says the online abuse of striker Kai Havertz and his wife has “terrible consequences” and needs to be “eradicated from the game”.

Havertz was criticised for his performance in Sunday’s FA Cup defeat by Manchester United, after he missed a glorious chance to win the game in normal time and then had his penalty saved in the shootout as United won 5-3 on penalties following the 1-1 draw.

The German’s wife Sophia shared screenshots of the “shocking” abuse she received on social media amid the game, including threats to the couple’s unborn child.

Arsenal have reported the abuse to the police and are working with a specialist data firm to identify the culprits, but Arteta says more must be done as he spoke before Wednesday’s north London derby against Tottenham.

“It’s incredible, honestly,” he said. “We really have to do something about it, because accepting that and hiding this has terrible consequences.

“It’s something we have to eradicate from the game because it’s so cynical and dependent to a result of an action.

“There is no other industry like this. When we played Ipswich on December 27, we won 1-0 and Kai Havertz scored. The whole stadium after that is singing the ‘Waka, Waka’ (his chant). That was 20 days ago. Where is the perspective?

“We are all responsible. That’s a really serious matter. It affects me. It affects him and everybody that is in the industry.

“We can accept it and say ‘that’s our job’, but there are certain limits and the line has to be drawn. We put a lot of attention on technology and what is next in football.

“What is next in football is that this should be prohibited. It cannot happen. That’s it.”

Meta, who own Instagram, removed the content for violating its policies.

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I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team – Klopp

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Jurgen Klopp says he has made a “clear commitment” that he will not become manager at one of the Red Bull clubs after starting his role as the organisation’s head of global soccer.

The former Liverpool manager was named in the role last year before officially starting at the beginning of 2025.

He has not had a managerial role since leaving Anfield last summer following a highly-successful nine year spell.

Klopp’s new role sees him take more of an oversight role across a number of clubs including RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg and New York Red Bulls.

But when asked at a media conference on Tuesday whether he might be tempted back into day-to-day management if a role at one of the clubs becomes available, Klopp said emphatically said “no”.

“I will not be the coach of a Red Bull team,” he said. “That is a clear commitment. As much as you can give a guarantee, I will not be a coach at all.

“I am probably the only person in this room who will be asked where are you in five years, I don’t have a clue.

“But I will not be a replacement of one of the Red Bull coaches.

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Rising star Fonseca knocks out ninth seed Rublev

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Joao Fonseca had a Grand Slam debut to remember as he knocked out ninth seed Andrey Rublev in the first round of the Australian Open.

The 18-year-old Brazilian thrilled the crowd as he caused the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory against Rublev.

Fonseca was playing in his first main-draw match at a major, having come through three rounds of qualifying without dropping a set in Melbourne last week.

The victory extends his winning streak to 14 matches – but who is tennis’ latest rising star?

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