While Ben Stokes understands the choice to put Jacob Bethell in to bat at number three has raised questions, he has affirmed England's decision-makers know what they are doing.

Bethell is 21 years old and is in line to make his Test debut against New Zealand in Christchurch on Thursday.

A left-hander for Warwickshire, he has never made a century in his senior cricket career and has never batted above number four in his 20 first-class matches.

When asked about the decision to field Bethell higher up the order than most expected, the England captain tried to allay any fears that people may have.

"You can totally understand it, but you've got to be true to yourself when you get given the opportunity to be able to make decisions," he said.

"We've always done what we feel is right for the team. It's gone in our favour quite a lot, so I think we do know what we're doing.

"We're not picking people just to wind people up. We do know what we're doing.

"We do know what we look for, and when you're in a position to make decisions you've got to do it by your standards and your means."

Let's goooooo pic.twitter.com/SkDRWu1Jpt

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) November 25, 2024

Bethell comes into the Test side having made 15 white-ball appearances, with plenty of excitement around his future.

He was originally due to be the backup batsman in the squad, but following wicketkeeper Jordan Cox's broken thumb, he was thrust into the team.

But Stokes was relaxed about him coming in, explaining that he had full faith in his ability.

"Beth's got the capability to be able to go out there, bat three and hopefully impact the game, like he has done throughout the summer in the white-ball team," he said.