Can Ian Bell fill the void left by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806? - Opinion
Over the last 12 months, England is emerging as one of the major forces of the game in the 50-overs format and has won One Day International (ODI) series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760. The most fascinating of those victories
was the whitewash against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 (UAE), as they were struggling to perform well on the tour prior to the ODIs.
Kevin Pietersen played a massive role in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c749’s success, as he scored two hundreds in the four matches and dominated the Pakistani bowling attack. After a convincing performance on flat pitches, the Poms looked right on track to
become one of the world’s leading ODI teams, before Pietersen’s sudden retirement from the game's shorter formats.
The http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754.
After a miserable showing in the Test series against the Men in Green, Warwickshire’s right-handed batsman, Ian Bell was dropped from the 50-overs squad.
The English selectors however, have again shown faith the 30-year-old to make a place for himself in the top order. There has never been any doubt about Bell’s credentials in the longer version of the sport as he averages 47.63, with
the help of 16 centuries, but his limited-overs career never quite got going.
Despite mediocre stats in ODIs, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362, the England team’s director, felt that the stylish batsman has gained immense experience at the game’s highest stage and it is about time that he translates his potential in the shorter
formats as well.
"Ian Bell is a very experienced cricketer, even though he's only 30. He's got a lot of international experience and he's in great form. He is very confident at the moment,” Flower expressed before the series against West Indies.
The top-order batsman responded brilliantly to the faith shown on him for the battle against the Caribbean men and scored a century in his comeback match at Southampton, which was followed by a commanding fifty at the Oval.
It is a great achievement for Bell that England did not miss Pietersen’s services. The right-hander was named as the Player of the Series as he helped his team outclass the visitors.
The British have never won the 50-overs World Cup but they are working overtime to prepare a strong unit for the next mega event. The former http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045 skipper thinks that ODI cricket’s requirements have changed after the amendments
in the rules, which have been altered to test the techniques of the batsmen.
Flower is of the opinion that Bell is ideally suited to accompany his skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026 in the opening role, and hopes that the duo will consistently deliver the goods for many years to come.
The mentor added, "With the two new white balls we want great quality batsmen up front and he is one of those. We believe the man who has got the best chance of making it a success against two new white balls is http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597. He's really
good quality. We believe he can form a successful partnership with Alastair Cook.”
It is probably not possible for any of the current English batsmen to fill the void left by Pietersen but Bell is definitely capable of making a place of his own.
Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed in this article are solely of the author and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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