SA20 2025: Jacob Bethell and Sam Hain join Paarl Royals to reinforce the squad

Following the news on Friday that two cricketing icons, Joe Root and Dinesh Karthik, would be joining the team for Season 3, the Paarl Royals unveiled English all-rounder Jacob Bethell and batter Sam Hain as their newest foreign additions for the SA20.

The English pair has been playing exceptionally well in this season of The Hundred, and their exploits will help strengthen the Royals’ roster. Legendary batter Joe Root, who was confirmed as a signing by the team last month, is joined by both Hain and Bethell.
Born and reared in Barbados, Bethell was accepted on a sports scholarship to the Rugby School in Warwickshire when he was thirteen years old.

Jacob Bethell advanced through the age categories at first as a batsman and spin bowler.

Warwickshire with his general qualities. He also played as an opener for the England Men’s U19 squad, which advanced to the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup Finals in 2022.

With his bat and ball, he has made an impression in all three formats since joining his county. With most of his runs coming in boundaries, he has amassed 676 runs at a strike rate of over 140 in 38 T20s thus far. With a strike rate of 155.45 and 6 wickets taken at a mere economy of 6.78, the young player has had a good start to the T20 Blast this year. With three games played for Birmingham Phoenix, the left-hander has scored 111 runs, good for second place on the list of most runs scored in the ongoing The Hundred.

In the meantime, Hain came back to England about ten years ago, when he was able to represent his native Hong Kong. He was born in Australia and spent his early years there. He gained prominence following an outstanding 2022 season in which he amassed over a thousand runs to maintain Warwickshire’s position in the top division. He is one of the best batters on the circuit and has played outstanding cricket in First Class, List A, and T20 formats.

Having represented numerous T20 teams worldwide, Hain is well-known for his low-risk shot selection, gap-finding skills, strike rotation, and spin play. He is scheduled to make his SA20 debut in Season 3. over a strike rate of 133.95, he has amassed over 4500 runs over 155 T20 matches.

“Both Jacob (Bethell) and Sam (Hain) are highly rated individuals as their recent performances have shown and will add to the depth of our squad,” said Kumar Sangakkara, Director of Cricket for the Royals, in a statement welcoming the two players to the team.

Also Read: SA20 2025: Paarl Royals’ Dinesh Karthik will be the league’s first Indian player

Jacob’s dynamic play style and keen sense of the game are qualities that will come in very handy in the SA20 conditions, both at home in Paarl and away. We’re all eager to see what Sam can do for us at Paarl because his potential to instantly make an impression with the bat has really come to light lately with his strong hitting. We can’t wait for them to both join the Royals in Season 3!”