Ashes player preview – Ian Bell

If the game was decided on technical ability alone, Ian Bell would be up there with the best, sadly there are other aspects of the game he appears to struggle with.

The Warwickshire batsmen must be used to playing under pressure. He was burdened with high expectations when he first emerged as a potential England player in 2001, so much so that Dayle Hadlee labelled him as the best 16-year-old he had ever seen.

But when it comes to the crunch Bell struggles to make the real big scores that mark out the class batsmen from the rest. He broke into the England side in 2004 but became a regular in the summer of 2005, scoring runs for fun, 297 to be exact, against Bangladesh.

However, when the Aussies arrived he found life much tougher. The ruthless tourists targeted the inexperienced Bell and he struggled to make the scores his class should dictate, hitting just 171 runs in ten innings.

He did improve during the tour of Pakistan that winter and was named ICC young cricketer of the year in 2006. But questions always linger about his ability to perform when it matters. He battle bravely in the face of more fierce Aussie sledging in the 2006/07 Ashes tour, hitting four half centuries in what was a pretty-dismal tour for England.

But his failure to convert 50s into 100s remains. Over the past four years he has been dropped and recalled on several occasions, answering his critics with defiant centuries one week, before collapsing early on the next. As Bell heads down under he must know he is set to receive another warm welcome from the Australians who openly target Bell, a player they feel is susceptible to sledging. Anyone looking at Ashes betting offers may want to steer clear of backing Bell.

His place in the starting line up isn’t guaranteed and given his track record I can understand why. Australia is a ruthless arena in which to play test cricket and I don’t think Bell has the mental strength to consistently cop with the pressure and score big runs. The Ashes best odds suggest England will struggle anyway and they should avoid gambling on Bell’s temperament.

Those doubts should serve as a challenge to the 28-year-old however and he knows if he can resist the charms of the Aussie bowlers, he has enough shots in his armoury to score runs Downunder and be a key weapon in England’s armoury.

           Related PostsOn Top Down UnderWallace and Richmond part companyTwo MLB Picks TonightMLB: Return of the StarsMLB: Day Forty-NineTags: Add a Comment

Name

Mail (will not be published)

Website