Birmingham Phoenix have announced Hampshire batter Joe Weatherley as a replacement for the injured Jacob Bethell for The Hundred 2026. The Edgbaston-based side have added the right-handed batter a day before their opening game of the new season, against Trent Rockets on Friday, July 24. 

On the eve of the tournament, Bethell pulled out of the 100-ball tournament after sustaining a knee injury during England's ODI series win against India. The setback deprived the left-handed batter of a chance to captain a Hundred franchise for the first time in his career. 

As a replacement, the Birmingham Phoenix have called Weatherley into their ranks following some excellent performances during the latter stages of the 2026 T20 Blast for the Hampshire Hawks.

The 29-year-old scored a 26-ball 46 against Essex in the quarter-finals to guide his side to Finals Day.

Weatherley truly shone on Finals Day, coincidentally played at the home of the Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston. He first scored an unbeaten 88 against the Notts Outlaws to take his side to yet another T20 Blast final. In the showpiece match against the Northamptonshire Steelbacks, the middle-order batter top-scored for Hampshire with 75.

His efforts with the bat, however, were not enough as the Hawks lost by 14 runs. 

The experienced batter ended the 2026 T20 Blast campaign with 591 runs, the most in his domestic T20 career in a single season. Striking at 150, the batter also averaged almost 50, showcasing his excellent consistency all season long.

It is worth mentioning that Weatherley has competed in The Hundred before. He played four times for the Southern Brave during the 2023 edition of the tournament, where he scored just eight runs after batting just twice. 

As far as a captaincy replacement is concerned, South Africa's Donovan Ferreira will take over the reins of the side from Bethell.

The explosive lower-order batter has Hundred pedigree, having formed part of the Oval Invincibles' title-winning squads in 2024 and 2025. The 28-year-old absolutely loves the franchise tournament in England, scoring 303 runs at a strike-rate of 206.12.