Why is Bell playing for England?

[Grendel]

Wanre has him all over the place?? Shane Warne is even better than i thought then cos glenn mcgrath got ian bell 1st ball!?!?

talk me thru warne bamboozling him yesty

It was posted on the 9th.

 

[Grizz]

The selectors made a decision on Bell at the beginning of the summer and it has had mixed blessings. But they obviously have doubts regarding Key as they keep dropping him. To me Key is just another flat track bully in the mould of Hick, Crawley or Ramps, who will get a bucket load of runs in the county game, come back into the England side for a few games and then be dropped again, having done very little.

Once Thorpe had retired it left the selectors with limited options. They had dropped Key, Collingwood is generally viewed as a one day specialist and Ed Joyce had not qualified for England at the beginning of the summer and is not really ready yet.

I do think they were correct to stick with Bell. Technically he has it all and he will come good. It also meant we played with a settled side.

Spot on fella! Bell has great potential and showed glimpses of that with the bat against Australia. Ok so he did pretty poorly with the bat overall, but his fielding is excellent and has a great pair of hands in that bat pad position. As Chapman said, there's been too much chopping and changing over recent years and i'd like to see the lad given a run in the side.

Grizz

 

[larus]

He is not an automatic choice though, it just happens that tehre isn't really anyone else pushing for the place. Bell has talent, that is clear, he just needs a run in the side. Watching the highlights of all the tests last night also showed that his fielding is of a very good standard. He didn't drop anything and that catch off Langer at short leg was extraordinary. Give him a chance, we've had enoguh chopping and changing in recent years, time to keep a solid side together and build on this success.

IF we were to drop him though where would people look? Solanki? Shah? You would really consider Prior good enough to be a specialist batsman at number 4? Robert Key?

Bell is still the best choice IMO and hopefully can keep his place in teh side. Remember, he's only 23. Time is on his side.

Too bloody right. He's got the potential to be an excellent test player. Why do we expect everyone to be able to make the adjustment from county to test straight away?

At the beginning of this series, there were loads of posters on here (me not one ), who were saying that Pieterson was not good enough, wrong temperament, one-day player, blah, blah, blah. Well, you lot were wrong about him, and the selectors were right.

If they think dong-dong is good enough, that's fine by me. We've gone from being a team that dropped players for having 2 bad games, to a team that is, for once, a real team; they play for each other and feel confident and not under pressure for their place in the team. That also means sticking by someone that has been identified as a good prospect and building for the long-term, not looking at the short-term. When Freddie came on the England scene, he flattered to deceive and only recently has been producing the goods.

 

[Scoffers]

It's very easy to bash Bell, and criticise his inclusion, but we've been guilty of dropping players too early in the past. I'd stick with him, for now, see how he gets on the next tour. He is a class batsman, anyone can have a poor series. I'd give him another tour at least. The only exception to this is if there was another person who stood out from the county circuit, with exceptional form

 

[Stumpy Tim]

Successful teams have to blood youngsters over time. Australia are now going to suffer because they persisted with Gillespie (who has been crap for at least a year, probably longer) & Kasprovic instead of blooding players like Shane Watson, Tait, & Nathan Bracken. We should persist with Bell & I think he'll have a decent winter in the sub-continent, do better next summer, and then be a fine player in time for the next Ashes.

 

[Scoffers]

Successful teams have to bloody youngsters over time. Australia are now going to suffer because they persisted with Gillespie (who has been crap for at least a year, probably longer) & Kasprovic instead of blooding players like Shane Watson, Tait, & Nathan Bracken. We should persist with Bell & I think he'll have a decent winter in the sub-continent, do better next summer, and then be a fine player in time for the next Ashes.

Agreed

 

[Pevenseagull]

Gilchrist only managed 10 more runs
Martyn only managed 7 more runs

8 catches (some exceptional

two 50s at Old Trafford

 

[Uncle Buck]

Gilchrist only managed 10 more runs
Martyn only managed 7 more runs

8 catches (some exceptional

two 50s at Old Trafford

Ssshhh, new people getting into the game and just look at the scoring stats. If their interest continues they will learn more about his potential etc.

Still next week the squad for the Pakistan tour is named and the Academy Tour. We should have at least 2 Sussex players in the academy squad, maybe 3 if Wright gets the nod.

 

[Scoffers]

Gilchrist only managed 10 more runs
Martyn only managed 7 more runs

8 catches (some exceptional

two 50s at Old Trafford

Nicely put

 

[Pavilionaire]

No matter how many runs Bell gets for England between now and the next Ashes in Australia he will go into that tour a worried man.

That will help Australia psychologically because once the second wicket goes down the third is not usually far behind, then you're into the shotmakers like Pietersen and Flintoff.

Bell reminds me of Neil Fairbrother - similar height, build and appearance, both good fielders, both bat same position in the order. Fairbrother struggled at test level and was eventually dropped for good, but went on to become an excellent one day player once he had matured and stopped shitting his pants when playing for England.

For me we need to be picking a decent player of spin, a gritty player who will hold up an end - basically a straight replacement for Thorpe.

 

[Simster]

For me we need to be picking a decent player of spin, a gritty player who will hold up an end - basically a straight replacement for Thorpe.

I don't think we've got one.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I don't think we've got one.

Collingwood is probably the only other gritty batsman of the Thorpe ilk that can find the ones and twos to keep the scoreboard ticking, but whether he is of Test quality is still undecided, but at 29 he is leaving it a tad late.

If Bell does not tour, you are then looking at players like Shah or Joyce, who are completely unproven, or bringing back Key who has only shown glimpses of what he might be able to do for England or not, when he has been brought back in, the last 2 times.

Currently England have a winning team and you should not really change a winning side, so Bell should be given this winter tour.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I think Bell will definitely go on the tour, partly because of the lack of competition. India and Pakistan is a hard place to tour, and I don't think the conditions will suit Key.

I really think Matt Prior might get selected. We normally take 2 spinners, so it is crucial to have a decent keeper. If Jones fails it will be handy to have Prior as back up without losing anything in the batting department.

 

[Grendel]

Gilchrist only managed 10 more runs
Martyn only managed 7 more runs

Proven players coming to the end of their careers, with good test match histories, not someone who has been picked on the basis of some good scores against the worst test nation in the world.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I think Bell will definitely go on the tour, partly because of the lack of competition. India and Pakistan is a hard place to tour, and I don't think the conditions will suit Key.

I really think Matt Prior might get selected. We normally take 2 spinners, so it is crucial to have a decent keeper. If Jones fails it will be handy to have Prior as back up without losing anything in the batting department.

Prior will be on the Academy Tour. Read will go as the back up keeper and rightly so, as he is probably the best glovesman in world cricket, there are just doubts regarding his batting (even though he has averaged over 50 for the last 2 seasons in county cricket). Watching Prior he seems to have the same faults as Jones, decent with the bat but has noticeable blips with the gloves.

Regarding competition for Bell, there are some decent prospects out there (Joyce and Shah spring to mind), but they are unproven at this stage and again would probably be better served spending the winter with Peter Moores and the Academy.

 

[CHAPPERS]

Proven players coming to the end of their careers, with good test match histories, not someone who has been picked on the basis of some good scores against the worst test nation in the world.

You can only play what's in front of you and Bell was not out against them and scored 227 runs. Not forgetting a Championship avarge of over 62 this season. He has quite clearly got something and I can't believe people seem to want him to get the chop.

We've won the Ashes and people still find something to moan about. Unbelievable.

 

[Uncle Buck]

You can only play what's in front of you and Bell was not out against them and scored 227 runs. Not forgetting a Championship avarge of over 62 this season. He has quite clearly got something and I can't believe people seem to want him to get the chop.

We've won the Ashes and people still find something to moan about. Unbelievable.

Pretty much spot on. Bell seems to have been one of these players that was destined to play for England and if the selectors stick by him he will score runs. The one worry with Englands batting is that we do not seem to have an obvious gritty player who can drop anchor, which is a complete reversal from 18 months ago when Hussain, Butcher and Thorpe were all in the side and we were crying out for a player like Pietersen in there to add a touch of variety.

 

[Grendel]

You can only play what's in front of you and Bell was not out against them and scored 227 runs. Not forgetting a Championship avarge of over 62 this season. He has quite clearly got something and I can't believe people seem to want him to get the chop.

We've won the Ashes and people still find something to moan about. Unbelievable.

Ok, put it another way - one of our so called specialist batsmen has a lower series batting average than Ashley Giles. Is this a good thing?

 

[larus]

Why are people obsessed with having a gritty player who can drop anchor/stay put?

The Aussies have shown over the last 10-15 years (and it was suitably demostrated by Pieterson), if you start scoring runs, that is a much, much better way of getting out of a tight spot than dropping anchor. OK, there may be the odd extreme when you need to scrore 500+ over 6 sessions to win, but hey, that's so rare anyway.

If Bell is thought to be good enough by the selectors, then let him have time. After all, the selectors haven't done a bad job over the last few years have they. The same ones harping on about Thorpe were the same ones that didn't want Pieterson. Nuff said really.

 

[larus]

Ok, put it another way - one of our so called specialist batsmen has a lower series batting average than Ashley Giles. Is this a good thing?

Go and check Freddies figures in his first 10 tests. See how good he was then.