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Full name Ian Ronald Bell
Born April 11, 1982, Walsgrave, Coventry, Warwickshire
Current age 26 years 186 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
75
72
6
2399
126*
36.34
3331
72.02
1
15
240
11
21
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
168
160
14
5154
137
35.30
3
38
54
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
75
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
168
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
England v South Africa at Cardiff, Sep 3, 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
England v South Africa at Cardiff, Sep 3, 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
