Cricinfo - Players and Officials

Full name Ian Ronald Bell
Born April 11, 1982, Walsgrave, Coventry, Warwickshire
Current age 26 years 36 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
Tests	36	66	7	2546	162*	43.15	5058	50.33	7	18	295	11	36
ODIs	64	62	4	2105	126*	36.29	2913	72.26	1	14	205	8	16
T20Is	4	4	0	49	22	12.25	53	92.45	0	0	5	0	3
First-class	126	218	20	8565	262*	43.25			21	48			86
List A	157	150	12	4860	137	35.21			3	37			49
Twenty20	22	21	4	295	66*	17.35	275	107.27	0	1	28	6	10

Bowling averages
	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	36	6	108	76	1	1/33	1/33	76.00	4.22	108.0	0	0	0
ODIs	64	6	88	88	6	3/9	3/9	14.66	6.00	14.6	0	0	0
T20Is	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
First-class	126		2719	1490	47	4/4		31.70	3.28	57.8	3	0	0
List A	157		1290	1138	33	5/41	5/41	34.48	5.29	39.0	0	1	0
Twenty20	22	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	New Zealand v England at Napier, Mar 22-26, 2008 scorecard
Test statistics
ODI debut	Zimbabwe v England at Harare, Nov 28, 2004 scorecard
Last ODI	New Zealand v England at Christchurch, Feb 23, 2008 scorecard
ODI statistics
T20I debut	England v Pakistan at Bristol, Aug 28, 2006 scorecard
Last T20I	New Zealand v England at Christchurch, Feb 7, 2008 scorecard
T20I statistics
First-class debut	1999
Last First-class	Derbyshire v Warwickshire at Derby, May 7-10, 2008 scorecard
List A debut	1999
Last List A	Warwickshire v Leicestershire at Birmingham, May 5, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut	Somerset v Warwickshire at Taunton, Jun 13, 2003 scorecard
Last Twenty20	New Zealand v England at Christchurch, Feb 7, 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, until he silenced the critics (for now) with a sublime 110 against New Zealand in Napier.
Andrew Miller April 2008

May 16, 2008

The umpires offer the light to New Zealand during the second session
© Getty Images

May 15, 2008

Ian Bell takes evasive action as Brendon McCullum goes long
© Getty Images

Apr 17, 2008

Paul Collingwood, Ryan Sidebottom, Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell in their new kits
© Getty Images

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