Bell End

[Surf's Up]

I know its a bit counter-cultural but I'd move Ali up the order to 7 and drop Butler/Bairstow to 8 - Ali's a good batter and needs to be higher up the order.

 

[Gwylan]

These days - 42 is pretty average, especially for a player of Bell's talent. I'd rate Atherton's 37 higher when you bear in mind he opened up against great pace attacks from Australia, West Indies, South Africa and Pakistan. Even the good pace attacks round the world now, Australia, South Africa and possibly New Zealand with the odd exception don't tend to have bowlers with frightening pace and the pitches round the world are the best they've ever been.

Bell's 42 has come down from 44/45 a year ago so he's had a bit of a slump. You may think 42 is average but it's higher than Vaughan, Strauss and Colliingwood (to name some recently retired players). You make a good point about Atherton whose 37 should be valued a lot higher but I think an average of 42 is still pretty decent

 

[knocky1]

Was that the tour where they sent him home to carry out a new fitness regime and when he reported back to the next training camp, he had actually put weight on?

I can't remember the sequence. Think there was a Lion's Tour to New Zealand in the frame?

 

[Braggfan]

I know its a bit counter-cultural but I'd move Ali up the order to 7 and drop Butler/Bairstow to 8 - Ali's a good batter and needs to be higher up the order.

Ali bats a "bit" and bowls a "bit" which is why he's in the side, he's a "bit" of an all rounder. But he's an average batsman, if didn't bowl spin he wouldn't be in the side for his batting, and with that in mind I'd be reluctant to put him to higher up the order. In fairness to him, he is handy to come in later on. He's a bit like Bresnan and Broad with his batting, handy but I wouldn't want to rely on him.

 

[spring hall convert]

Bell's 42 has come down from 44/45 a year ago so he's had a bit of a slump. You may think 42 is average but it's higher than Vaughan, Strauss and Colliingwood (to name some recently retired players). You make a good point about Atherton whose 37 should be valued a lot higher but I think an average of 42 is still pretty decent

Vaughan and Strauss opened for at least portions of their career that has an effect, Bell until recently was protected at 5 or 6. Collingwood as tough a character as he was didn't have half the talent of Bell. On talent alone their averages should be miles apart.

But I'll give you 'pretty decent' that's about right.

 

[spring hall convert]

In the absence of Wood and Finn, I probably would have taken Plunkett. We've ended up picking a bunch of medium fast bowlers again with no real change up. I thought we'd learnt our lesson on that one.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

I feel a bit sorry for Bell, at this stage of most batsman's careers they are moved down the order to 4 or 5, whereas he has been moved up to 3. He should be still turning out at 5 and scoring runs for us there.

I'd be surprised if they are picking Compton just as a tourist, I expect him in the team, probably at 3 where he plays in County cricket. So Cook, Hales, Compton, Root, Taylor, Stokes, Bairstow, Ali, Woakes/Footit, Broad, Anderson?

 

[Hampster Gull]

I had assumed this was a Corbyn thread. I'm a bit disappointed

 

[Cheshire Cat]

I was astonished to hear that Bell is third in number of England Test caps (or was that total appearances?)

 

[LlcoolJ]

He's been on a poor run of form and his confidence seems shot (dropped catches etc) but I'm not convinced that dropping him from the squad is the correct decision at a time when we have a very inexperienced batting lineup. Or rather a batting lineup that nobody can agree on.