Friday, 3 June 2011

Ian Bell

Ian Bell Biography
This right-handed batsman from Coventry, England, became a star long before he even actually made it to his national team receiving praise from the likes of Dayle Hadlee at the age of 16. Known to be a highly talented batsman, Ian Bell is one of the few English players who have established themselves in all formats of the game.

Bell got his first call-up to the England squad in 2001 after playing just 13 first-class games. However, he made his Test debut only as late as August 2004 against the West Indies. “Belly” became an instant star scoring 70 on his debut and was given an opening to the ODI circuit against Zimbabwe later that year where he impressed once again scoring 75 bagging the ‘Man of the Match’ award for his efforts. His first big slump in international cricket came against arch-rivals Australia where Glenn McGrath and the likes restricted him to a paltry 171 runs in 10 innings. Bell recovered rapidly from the fall and turned out to be the highest run-scorer in the subsequent series against Pakistan.

The middle-order batsman faced a lot of criticism for not being able to convert his half centuries into bigger scores and was doubted by most cricketing experts who pondered whether he had the talent to get to the three figure mark. A solid 110 against New Zealand and a stunning 199 against South Africa in 2008 silenced critics in an emphatic manner. He was dropped in the winter following a poor first Test against the West Indies but he soon restored his place in the side and went on to score a match-winning 140 against South Africa at Durban. Over the years, Ian Bell has become one of England’s most reliable middle-order batsmen and he threatens to continue to hold that stature for a while to come.

Fast Facts

Ian Bell was named the ICC Emerging Player of the Year in 2006.
He was one of the Five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 2008.
Bell became the 6th English batsman to register a half-century on debut in both ODIs and Tests.
He was given the NBC Denis Compton award in three consecutive years - 1999, 2000 and 2001.
Bell was also rewarded with the PCA Young Cricketer of the Year award in 2004.
Bell was England's highest run-getter (1080) in ODIs in the year 2007.
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Ian Bell 106* - England vs Pakistan 2nd test at Manchester 2006
Ian Bell 86* vs Pakistan

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