England’s next big thing is Jacob Bethel taking tips from West Indies legend Sir Gary Sobers!

Jacob Bethel is out to beat England in the final of the Under 19 World Cup when they play Afghanistan In Antigua – with the advice of an all-time great ringing in his ears.

Bethel was born in Barbados and moved to England at the age of 12 to attend rugby school. But on a trip to the West Indian Islands, he meets his family friend Sir Gary Sobers, who lives close to the teenager’s parents.

Bethel tells SportsMail, ‘I’ve been fortunate enough to meet her and have a few chats with her. ‘It’s always good to pick his mind and find out how he used to go about things. He just basically says, “Give yourself a chance”.

‘It’s a very simple way of looking at things, but if you try and break it with the first ball you’re not giving yourself a chance.

Mind you, I’ve seen six of his sixes on YouTube. I wouldn’t say at all that it was giving himself a chance, but I think he was on 70 by that time, so we can leave that!’

Sobers would have approved of Bethel’s quarter-final cameo as England beat South Africa. Opening, the 18-year-old Warwickshire all-rounder scored 88 runs in just 42 balls. By the time he was dismissed in the 10th over, England had 110 runs.

It inspired Bethel’s move from an unknown relative to a batsman everyone would be looking for, especially as home action begins this summer.

Teenager meets family friend Sir Gary Sobers on trip to West Indian Islands

Meanwhile, England will thank their lucky stars for following the path of Jofra Archer and Chris Jordan to play for England against the West Indies.

‘The first summer I left home, I was 12,’ he says. ‘It was tough in the beginning. I never really went away for any length of time.

‘To move to a foreign country and spend months at a time, it didn’t really sound like my cup of tea initially. But it only took me a week to settle in because boarding school is so much fun.

‘It also helped that Mike Powell (former Warwickshire captain) was the director of cricket at Rugby and he opened his doors to me. It was really nice to have a friendly face there.

Bethel was born in Barbados and moved to England at the age of 12 to attend rugby school

‘But that’s the beauty of sport and cricket in particular. You meet so many people. In my first week at school, I went from not knowing anyone to my first training session of the year and suddenly made 50 friends.

‘I think everyone was a little surprised. Everyone heard that a West Indies was coming, they were expecting me to bowl fast and hit him. But I was only 4 feet tall, I bowled spin and couldn’t hit it outside the square!’

Certainly not the case now, Bethel’s hits ousted him as one of the most destructive batsmen in English cricket. His left-arm spin is also useful, helping him move to Warwickshire’s side in the Royal London Cup, when their big hitters were playing in the hundred. He says, “I still consider myself primarily an all-rounder. ‘The bowling has progressed a lot this summer while the batting lags a bit.

“Now, playing here in the Under 19 World Cup where I am primarily a batsman, it has been great. This has leveled things up a bit.

Now Afghanistan in the semi-finals. If Bethel picks up where it left off against South Africa, England will advance to the final.