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Who's going to consolidate their place first

BoyBrumby

Englishman
marc71178 said:
And yet again the underperformer of the middle order who played all winter is guaranteed his spot?
He needs to do more, but I'm sorry KP is ahead of Bell in my pecking order.

If he gets himself out to some daft shots v Sri Lanka a spell on the sidelines may do him good, but I'd still have him in my XI just now.

open365 said:
Bell made 3 fifties in his first 3 innings didn't he?

Moral: Everyone has a good debut in the English side now, and you don't judge a player one one game
True, but I'd say that India in India is a greater challenge than the Windies (who were already 3-0 down in the series) & Bangladesh at home.

I'm not anti-Bell, but I think he needs to do more to keep his place.
 

Autobahn

State 12th Man
BoyBrumby said:
He needs to do more, but I'm sorry KP is ahead of Bell in my pecking order.

If he gets himself out to some daft shots v Sri Lanka a spell on the sidelines may do him good, but I'd still have him in my XI just now.



True, but I'd say that India in India is a greater challenge than the Windies (who were already 3-0 down in the series) & Bangladesh at home.

I'm not anti-Bell, but I think he needs to do more to keep his place.
Well i think Bell doesn't have to worry too much from Cook because i can't see tres or strauss being any good at number 3 and KP is pretty much a fixture in the side at the moment, his main worries will be shah and colly who both could easily fit into Bell's position and will do if he's not getting runs.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
open365 said:
I think Bell's already consolidated his place in the test side already, i don't see Fletch dropping him any time soon.
I hardly see how anyone could justify picking him ahead of Collingwood or Shah.
So even with no Vaughan, I'd be surprised to see him in in 3 weeks' time.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
marc71178 said:
And yet again the underperformer of the middle order who played all winter is guaranteed his spot?
So you were complaining when Hussain started 2001?
Even though he never went 5 innings without a score from then on?
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Autobahn said:
Well i think Bell doesn't have to worry too much from Cook because i can't see tres or strauss being any good at number 3 and KP is pretty much a fixture in the side at the moment, his main worries will be shah and colly who both could easily fit into Bell's position and will do if he's not getting runs.
It'd be crazy to pick Cook and either have him out of position or have him force someone else out of position.
Cook has had a terrific start to his Test career, what he needs at the moment is a bucketful of domestic runs now he's finally guranteed to start at Essex with no Robinson, Grayson or Jefferson, then he needs to be first-reserve opener on the plane to Australia.
It's a long time since we had a situation where there were 3 openers in England who inspired (some) confidence.
We can't afford to waste it by messing any of the 3 around. SA are currently in serious danger of doing that with ABdeV.
 

vic_orthdox

Global Moderator
I think both will enter the Ashes with question marks still next to their name. Not sure if Clarke has any games on for NSW before the Tests start (doubt it, with a Champions Trophy before the Ashes), but if he does a few runs there will keep the doubters at bay, while I doubt he'll be crucified by the selectors, nor the press, if he doesn't make runs.

I'd expect Bell to do enough through the English summer to ensure that he keeps his head above water. And then tread water through the Ashes again - if Eng win, he'll remain. If they lose, he could well be the scapegoat.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Not if Pietersen gets out to an attacking stroke with it 1-1 going into the last session of the series with England having 4 wickets standing and those then go down in a hurry.
 

Barney Rubble

International Coach
Personally I think there's no doubt Bell has some issues to sort out - but they're not issues that are irreparable. He can learn not to fish outside off stump; he can learn to be more patient; he can gain more experience against top-class spin. What sets him apart from a lot of young players is that he is willing to work for his runs, and once he's got to fifty or a hundred he doesn't decide that he's done enough and alter his mindset. A couple of big doubles for Warwickshire off 400+ balls show he's not satisfied with 100 - it's a hunger for runs that the likes of Pietersen (and Clarke, come to think of it) don't seem to possess.

I think he has to be persevered with, certainly more so than Collingwood, who I don't think will ever be anything more than a stop-gap at Test level. I see Bell as having a lot in common with Graeme Thorpe - if he's given time, I think he might well go on to become as good a player.
 

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Graeme Thorpe?
Incidentally, with regards him - I don't actually think Bell has too much in common with the Thorpe we knew for most of his career. Until about 2000, Thorpe made his name by being a counter-attacking left-handed middle-order batsman. England often lost early wickets (the start of his career coincided with the end of Gooch's boom) for much of his career, and he sometimes came to the rescue.
Thorpe was until the 2nd phase of his career a much, much more attacking batsman than Bell.
I too feel Bell will have plenty to offer at the international level in time, but for me the best thing he can do now is score some runs - which he hasn't really done (most of his scores in Pakistan involved let-offs) since the last Bangladesh "Test" last summer.
 

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