Ian Bell

Ian Bell has been one of England's most prolific batsmen, in recent years. Few things can match the visual superiority of watching Bell unfurl a classic cover-drive. He is a technically sound batsman, who can bat with composure. What sets Bell apart from most of his counterparts is his near-perfect consistency and flawless technique in the longer format of the game.

At the age of 19 years, Bell became the youngest player to score a century for the Bears and played only 13 First-Class games before earning a call-up to the England squad in 2002. He eventually made his Test debut against West Indies in August 2004 and struck an impressive 70 in his only innings. He had a successful ODI campaign against Zimbabwe and earned his first Man of the Match award for a crucial 75 at the top of the order. Bell returned back to the Test squad following a successful 2005 domestic season. He then responded brilliantly against Bangladesh, scoring 65 and 162. Although, Bell failed to make a significant impact in The Ashes that year, he emerged as England's leading run-scorer on the tour to Pakistan, hitting three consecutive tons, the following summer.

Slowly but surely, Bell continued to establish himself as an integral part of the national team. Heavily criticised for his inability to convert fifties into hundreds, in the initial stages of his international career, Bell silenced his critics with some superlative performances. Unfortunately, Bell was dropped after England suffered a humiliating defeat against West Indies in early 2009. But he was recalled midway through the 2009 Ashes and went on to hit crucial fifties at Edgbaston and The Oval.

Bell truly blossomed as a cricketer in South Africa, the following winter, scoring a defining 140 in an innings victory at Kingsmead and later went on to hit a well-made 78 that aided England in saving the third Test in Cape Town. After that the fiery batsman was on a roll and had an even more impressive 2010-11 Ashes campaign. He went on to score his first Test ton against Australia in the final Test at SCG, helping England seal an epic 3-1 win over their arch-rivals. His unbelievable form continued through 2011 and both Sri Lanka and India found themselves at the receiving end of Bell's onslaught. He hit four magnificent centuries in seven Tests, overtaking Alastair Cook as the highest run-scorer for the calendar year.

After a difficult winter against Pakistan as England suffered a miserable 3-0 loss, Bell was back in form in ODI cricket. Capitalising on the opportunity to bat at the top of the order, Bell struck a fantastic 126 against West Indies and also won the Man of the Series award. He was a consistent performer in England's 4-0 win against Australia, later that summer. There was no stopping him even in India as he notched up his first Test hundred on Indian soil in England's historic series win.

Bell's importance multiplied after he delivered a thoroughly solid performance in the 2013 Ashes at home. Dubbed as 'Bell's Ashes' for his three tons, England eventually achieved a landmark 3-0 win over Australia. Bell became the first man to reach three figures in three successive Ashes Tests since Chris Broad in 1986 and was also adjudged as the Man of the Series. Sadly, he was not able to replicate the same performance in the winter Ashes and averaged only 26.11 in five games. The England management, however, continued to place faith in his ability and he still remains an integral part of England's plan to rebuild.

Bell had a quiet summer as per his standards in 2014, he scored only one hundred in the seven Tests that he played against Sri Lanka and India. He was also in and out of the ODI side, often overlooked because of Cook. However, with the axing of Cook, barely months before the 2015 World Cup, Bell was slotted to open the batting for England in the showpiece event. He had a decent tournament as a batsman but England's preliminary exit sent shockwaves to their cricketing circles which was followed by a total overhaul of the white-ball squads.

The revamp meant people like Bell had to make way for the young talents as England seeked to embrace the ultra-aggressive and fearless approach in limited-overs cricket. He continued to be in the traditional Test format but failures in the 2015 Ashes series and the inability to produce big knocks saw him getting the sack after the series against Pakistan in the UAE towards the year end. Despite being dropped at the twilight of the career, Bell hasn't given up hopes and has actually performed well in the County circuit. Having been appointed captain at Warwickshire, he led the club to the Royal London One Day trophy in 2015-16 and his personal form continued to be good.

However, England seemed to have decided to look beyond Bell despite having had a fragile middle order for quite sometime now. The preference for newer faces like Dawid Malan and James Vince does mean that the veteran has his task cut out as far as his comeback dreams are concerned. Nevertheless, Bell has enjoyed a tremendously successful career that has included a mammoth five Ashes series victories - an enviable feat for any England cricketer and was also part of the side that finished runners up in the 2013 Champions Trophy. He also had a good time in the BBL where he was part of Perth Scorchers' title-clinching 2016-17 season.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan