Bell focused on Ashes
England batsman Ian Bell says he has his sights firmly on the Ashes and will not rush his comeback from injury.
Bell twisted an ankle during the one-day international series against Australia and has been kept out of the test series against Pakistan because of the bad ankle sprain.
With a number of good players currently circulating the England team there were fears that Bell would try and rush his recovery in order to try and play against Pakistan. However, he has since said that he will not risk his chances of playing against Australia this winter.
Bell's game puts him at the top of the list above a lot of other players when it comes to chances of an Ashes place. However, his injury has given Eoin Morgan a chance in the side, and his hundred in the first test against Pakistan will now pile the pressure on Bell.
His game
Bell's game has a lot going for it. He has been part of a very successful England set-up for a long time and he knows what it feels like to play in an Ashes winning side.
This will give him a much deeper experience than other players and means he will be less likely to crumble if he's picked to play in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746. He knows how to deal with Aussie sledging and he knows how to play against a lot of their current team.
Bell was playing quite well before he picked up his injury and he will be very annoyed to now be out of the side. This means that he will be all the more intent on making sure he scores runs and bags an Ashes place when he is fit and starts playing again.
He said: "It's been slow going in terms of what I can do in the last couple of weeks but in the next 10 days or so I can start doing a bit more and move on to the next stage of my rehab. So far the experts are really happy with things but, being a break, it's the kind of injury that if you come back too early and it's not fixed properly then it could break again. It's a patience game but at least it's moving in the right direction, which is good."
A chance for others
One man's misfortune is another man's gain and Bell's injury is the perfect example of this. His absence from the team has allowed Eoin Morgan to come in and he went on to smash a hundred against Pakistan in the first test of a four match series.
This means Morgan is now firmly in the driving seat for the extra batting slot on the Ashes tour and it will be up to other players to prove that they are the better option. If Morgan goes on and gets another hundred in the series against Pakistan then he will have secured his place for the Ashes barring some unforeseen circumstances.
Bell added: "I'll do as much as I can to get back on the field as soon as possible and hopefully I can have the last month of the county season, fingers crossed."
Betting advice
Morgan looks very comfortable at test match level and he is a very good bet to get another hundred in the series against Pakistan. Look around for the best odds and back him to do so because http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 just couldn't bowl to him during the first test.
Bell has his work cut out to get back his England place and he will have to score a number of hundreds at the end of the county season to do this. If he starts batting well at the end of the county season, then a bet on him making the national team for the Ashes isn't a bad idea.
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