Jacob Bethell has given England a selection decision to make, says head coach Brendon McCullum.
The 21-year-old played in his first Test series in New Zealand, effectively replacing wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who was on paternity leave.
Bethell scored three half-centuries, including being England’s top scorer with 76 on the fourth and final day of their massive 423-run third Test defeat at Hamilton.
“It’s quite a headache,” McCullum told BBC Sport. “That’s what you want. You want that conversation, you don’t want to go around looking for talent.
“We have a few months to think about what we are doing.”
Smith’s place, England’s first-choice wicketkeeper, was to be taken by Jordan Cox for the New Zealand series, but Cox broke his thumb a few days before the first Test.
England reshuffled their line-up, handing the gloves to Ollie Pope, who dropped to sixth in the batting order. Bethell finished third despite never having batted higher than fourth in his first-class career and having not scored a century in professional cricket.
He took his chances with an unbeaten 50 in the first Test victory in Christchurch and then with 96 in the Wellington victory. Apart from the Hamilton knock, all three 50-plus scores came in the second round.
Bethell became only the second England batsman, after Sir Alastair Cook, to reach 50 in the same series three times before turning 22.
Captain Ben Stokes has previously said he expects England to return to their original line-up when Smith is available, with goalkeeper Smith taking the midfield spot and Pope returning at three.
However, McCullum has now suggested that Bethell may force England to review their options, just as they did after a series of defeats in India earlier this year. Their next Test will be against Zimbabwe in May.
