http://www.senore.com/Cricket/IR-Bell-c1597 not bothered by England's poor Test form in 2012 – Cricket News Update
England’s prolific middle-order batsman, Ian Bell, on Tuesday rubbished the concerns about his team’s Test credentials, raised after their latest innings crushing at the hands of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757, in the opening Test of the three-match series, at The Oval.
“You don't just look at the last nine Test matches, you look over the last two or three years. That's why we're ranked No.1. The points are monitored over a long period of time. It's been a consistent effort over a long period,” insisted
Bell, who led England’s resistance in the second innings of the opening Test, with a hard-fought 55.
The Poms might have had an impressive run in the five-day format over the past couple of years, which also saw them dethroning http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 as the number one Test team, with a 4-0 series whitewash, last summer, but they have had a struggling
2012 year so far.
The innings and 12-run defeat at the hands of Poms, at The Oval on Monday, was http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, in the
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758, at Galle, which put their No. 1 ranking on line. But the Poms made an impressive comeback in the second Test in Colombo, to secure their position at
the top of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/ICC-World-Cup-2011-c100625 Test rankings.
Last month’s 2-0 home Test series win over struggling http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 was England’s first success of the year in the five-day format. But the recent innings thrashing at the hands of Graeme Smith-led South Africa side brought the Poms crashing back down to earth.
South Africa, currently ranked number three on ICC Test rankings, trail the table http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Thomas-Donald-Topley-c93395, England, by nine points. But a series win for the Proteas, even 1-0, will see them usurp England as the Test No.1 side. On the other hand, a
drawn series would see the tourists go level on points with the Poms, but behind them by a decimal fraction, allowing the hosts to cling to their ranking a little longer.
Bell asked his teammates to do everything right to win the next two Tests, in order to secure their top spot.
“In the next two Tests, we have to go out and fight for every single run and wicket and try to hold on to No.1,” urged Bell.
The second Test gets underway in Leeds, on August 2.
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