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England players and officials - select an initial letter:
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Ian Bell

England

Player profile

Full name Ian Ronald Bell
Born April 11, 1982, Walsgrave, Coventry, Warwickshire
Current age 26 years 133 days
Major teams England, Warwickshire, Warwickshire Cricket Board
Nickname Belly
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height 5 ft 10 in
Education Princethorpe College, Rugby
Relations Brother - KD Bell

Batting and fielding averages
Mat Inns NO Runs HS Ave BF SR 100 50 4s 6s Ct St
Tests 43 77 8 2923 199 42.36 5767 50.68 8 19 343 12 41 0
ODIs 70 68 5 2250 126* 35.71 3118 72.16 1 14 224 10 19 0
T20Is 5 5 1 109 60* 27.25 99 110.10 0 1 14 1 4 0
First-class 134 230 21 9157 262* 43.81 23 49 92 0
List A 163 156 13 5005 137 35.00 3 37 52 0
Twenty20 24 23 5 397 66* 22.05 356 111.51 0 2 42 8 11 0

Bowling averages
Mat Inns Balls Runs Wkts BBI BBM Ave Econ SR 4w 5w 10
Tests 43 6 108 76 1 1/33 1/33 76.00 4.22 108.0 0 0 0
ODIs 70 6 88 88 6 3/9 3/9 14.66 6.00 14.6 0 0 0
T20Is 5 - - - - - - - - - - - -
First-class 134 2719 1490 47 4/4 31.70 3.28 57.8 3 0 0
List A 163 1290 1138 33 5/41 5/41 34.48 5.29 39.0 0 1 0
Twenty20 24 10 132 186 3 1/12 1/12 62.00 8.45 44.0 0 0 0

Career statistics
Test debut England v West Indies at The Oval, Aug 19-21, 2004 scorecard
Last Test England v South Africa at The Oval, Aug 7-11, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut Zimbabwe v England at Harare, Nov 28, 2004 scorecard
Last ODI Scotland v England at Edinburgh, Aug 18, 2008 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut England v Pakistan at Bristol, Aug 28, 2006 scorecard
Last T20I England v New Zealand at Manchester, Jun 13, 2008 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut 1999
Last First-class England v South Africa at The Oval, Aug 7-11, 2008 scorecard
List A debut 1999
Last List A Scotland v England at Edinburgh, Aug 18, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut Somerset v Warwickshire at Taunton, Jun 13, 2003 scorecard
Last Twenty20 England v New Zealand at Manchester, Jun 13, 2008 scorecard
 Profile

Once described by Dayle Hadlee as the best 16-year old he had ever seen, Ian Bell had been earmarked for greatness long before he was drafted onto the England tour of New Zealand in 2001-02, as cover for the injured Mark Butcher. Tenacious and technically sound, Bell is a top-order batsman very much in the mould of Michael Atherton, who was burdened with similar expectations when he made his England debut a generation ago. And like Atherton, it is Bell's mental attitude to the game that has set him apart from his peers. When in form, he is particularly adept at leaving the ball outside off stump, and he has received glowing reviews from coaches at every stage of his development, not least from Rod Marsh at the England Academy, a man not given to hyperbole. A former England U19 captain, Bell had played just 13 first-class games when called into the England squad, though in 2001 he scored 836 runs for Warwickshire at an average of over 64, including three centuries. Amid all the attention, Bell's form slumped, but by 2004 he was on his way back. He finally made his Test debut against West Indies in August 2004, stroking 70 in his only innings, before returning the following summer to lift his career average to an obscene 297 with two unbeaten innings against Bangladesh, including his maiden Test century at Chester-le-Street. Unsurprisingly, he wouldn't find such easy pickings on offer for the rest of the summer. Found out - like so many others - by Australia's champions, McGrath and Warne, he mustered just 171 runs in ten innings, but bounced back that winter, top-scoring for the series against Pakistan, including a classy century at Faisalabad. After seeking advice from Alec Stewart to assert himself at the crease, he struck three elegant centuries in successive Tests against Pakistan and went to Australia with a new-found belief, having been named ICC's young player of the year for 2006. He was targeted by the Australian sledging, but managed four elegant half-centuries to confirm his stature as a Test batsman. By the end of England's disappointing World Cup campaign in March and April, Bell was one of a handful of squad members to have established themselves in both forms of the game. Yet for all his class, the doubts persisted in his inability to convert fifties into match-turning hundreds. His critics were briefly quietened after a sublime 110 against New Zealand in Napier, and a career-best 199 against South Africa at Lord's added to his enhanced reputation. But in between whiles he was still prone to missing out when the going was at its toughest.
Andrew Miller April 2008


 Notes
NBC Denis Compton Award 1999, 2000, 2001
PCA Young Cricketer of the Year 2004
Awarded the MBE in 2005
ICC Emerging Player of the Year 2006
Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2008

 Latest Articles

View the full list of 228 related articles


 Latest Photos

Aug 11, 2008

Ian Bell is bowled round his legs by Makhaya Ntini
Ian Bell is bowled round his legs by Makhaya Ntini
© Getty Images

Aug 10, 2008

Monty Panesar celebrates as Ian Ball catches Morne Morkel
Monty Panesar celebrates as Ian Ball catches Morne Morkel
© Getty Images

Aug 10, 2008

Monty Panesar celebrates as Ian Ball catches Morne Morkel
Monty Panesar celebrates as Ian Ball catches Morne Morkel
© Getty Images

View the full list of 369 related images


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