Ian Bell

[Serani]

Guys what are your opinions on this classy batsman? Personally I think he has so much talent he should be batting higher and averaging at least 50. He seems to have overcome his mental frailties of earlier in his career and just looks like an absolute beauty at the crease. Cant believe some Samaraweeras are averaging 50 when Bell is about 10x the player, what a shame.

[Laaloo]

Ghanta is a really good player. Don't know why he's batting at such a low position when he's in the form of his life. He should at least be batting higher than Collingwood.

[Sid]

definately bat at no.5,poor lad always gets stranded with the tail

[Serani]

Yeh colly needs to just retire asap in all honesty. I honestly cant comprehend how a guy with one shot [nudge to leg side] is batting above a guy that can score all round the wicket. Belly is having to sacrifice his wicket batting with tail enders which is not the greatest situation to be in.

[ravishingravi]

Yup, extremely classy player who is starting to fulfilll his potential. He should come at No.3

[daryl1985]

class act, his mental frailties (which i believe he is overcoming) are the only thing preventing from becoming world class. I think his biggest test will come when he starts to bat higher up the order, if he fails again when promoted up the order i think he will never fulfil his undoubted potential. I'm hoping this innings was a turning point in his career, it was one when he came into bat in a tough situation and he made an excellent contribution. http://www.espncricinfo.com/rsaveng09/engine/match/387572.html

[Ram]

The media is perpetuating this myth that promoting Bell to no.5 is the solution to all of England’s ills. He’s definitely a good batsmen, but if you go by English batsmen. I think he averages 44 in the test cricket right now, he’s certainly capable of taking it to around 47-48. Of course, he’s still a long way away from the elite club of 50+ guys. But among all the English batsmen, he looks the most solid and assured, which honestly, isn’t saying much given their line-up has guys like Cook and Collingwood.

[saneindian]

One of the most talented batsman going around, Looks to have turned his career around during that SA tour early this year. Not sure if he will end with a 50+ average though.

[Sachinism]

Yeh Collingwood batting ahead of him is ludicrous. Really classy bat and in good touch at the moment

[VRV Singh]

He is too well rounded a player to be batting where he is/with the tail I would consider him batting at 5 and Morgan coming in at 6 with Collingwood dropped. I know Morgan's not been very good in Test format so far but he can manipulate the ball and probably maximise partnerships with the tail with his shots. Glad Belly boy is realising his potential anyway, despite the rat-like features...I have met him a couple of times and he's a nice guy.

[cowboysfan]

i am shocked at his improvement,he was in good form before his injury but now he seems very confident out there.

[Serani]

He is too well rounded a player to be batting where he is/with the tail I would consider him batting at 5 and Morgan coming in at 6 with Collingwood dropped. I know Morgan's not been very good in Test format so far but he can manipulate the ball and probably maximise partnerships with the tail with his shots. Glad Belly boy is realising his potential anyway, despite the rat-like features...I have met him a couple of times and he's a nice guy.

Yeh Colly is pretty useless with the bat, just worried about yet another career saving special he seems to conjure up every season, really hurting englands chances in this series at the moment. Bopara at 6 would do a pretty good job too if he can sort it out.

[kabira]

I am still not convinced about him...He has long way to go to become regular member of the team. They are not going to drop Collingwood for sure. His bowling will be useful in Melbourne (slow track, ball stops there)

[Bradman99]

He's a quality player and a real hard one to dismiss. I think he should be ahead of Collingwood in the order. He failed earlier in his career against Aus cause he couldn't face Warne.

[bunny]

He is definitely better than most of the Indian youngsters (barring a couple maybe). I used to rate him high long back, but then he tended to just hang his bat out, and would struggle against both incutters and outswingers. If he has corrected that, he will surely average more.

[jusarrived]

on of my fav players infact always thot he could play the role Dravid plays for England & definitely a 50-55 avg batsmen ...good to see him doing well again .

[jusarrived]

Yeh Colly is pretty useless with the bat, just worried about yet another career saving special he seems to conjure up every season, really hurting englands chances in this series at the moment. Bopara at 6 would do a pretty good job too if he can sort it out.

Bopara is pretty loose , talented but I doubt he has the temperament for test cricket ..Colly plays some special knocks , but needs to be a little more consistent though.

[virufan]

Guys what are your opinions on this classy batsman? Personally I think he has so much talent he should be batting higher and averaging at least 50. He seems to have overcome his mental frailties of earlier in his career and just looks like an absolute beauty at the crease. Cant believe some Samaraweeras are averaging 50 when Bell is about 10x the player, what a shame.

Samaraweera may not be a classy player like Bell but is very effective. So there is nothing to be ashamed of. His average speaks for itself.

[VRV Singh]

The Ashes 2010: England's 'cagefighter' Ian Bell shows Australia ruthless streak The Ian Bell Australia are encountering this winter is a very different character to the meek and mild batsman who was sledged mercilessly by Shane Warne in past Ashes series. Four years ago Bell was infamously labelled 'the Sherminator’ by Warne after the geeky character in the film American Pie. There have been no such taunts this time around as he has looked England’s classiest batsmen in all three Tests, while in Perth he was the only one capable of coping with Mitchell Johnson’s menace. In the first three matches, the Warwickshire batsman has made 213 runs at an average of 71. Some of this success could have been because he was “put through hell†by a cagefighter. At least that is the verdict of Barrington Patterson, the 45-year-old professional fighter and trainer who is regarded as one of Britain’s hardest men. “He’s more aggressive, more ruthless, now,†insisted Patterson, an 18-stone heavyweight cage fighter and kick-boxer. He and fitness guru Darren Grewcock spent months immersing Bell in a gruelling regime and training techniques faced daily by professional mixed martial artists and fighters. Patterson, who once fought world heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko in a kick-boxing tournament, had more than 60 fights in kick-boxing and MMA. He has worked the doors of nightclubs in the Midlands for more than two decades, and was once a self-confessed football hooligan with Birmingham City. Those days are over, and he now trains mixed martial artists at his fight school at Capitol Gym, in Coventry. In tandem with fitness trainer Grewcock, who used to put England rugby player Neil Back through his paces, they have transformed Bell’s physique and outlook. It was Grewcock who encouraged 6ft 8in former England rugby captain Martin Johnson to get into the cage with Patterson when he was still playing. Fighting fit helps all sportsmen in the heat of battle. The pair insist they have toughened Bell’s mental strength, the Warwickshire batsman’s introverted character having been a hot topic of discussion in recent seasons. Bell was taunted by the Australians in recent series, Shane Warne labelling him the ‘Sherminator’ in the 2006-2007 Ashes series in mocking reference to the weedy, ginger-haired geek in the movie, American Pie. Bell might now show Warne a thing or two were the cage door to be locked with the pair of them in it. Bell has admitted to having been “beaten up a fair bitâ€, in the gym, in recent times. Grewcock initially invited Patterson to Edgbaston “to put Bell through hell†last season, to push him to the limit. They choked him out with submission holds; they made him spar, and grapple. “He really surprised me,†Grewcock said. “Ian came to us and put himself out there to be tested. We pushed him as hard as possible, and his confidence has gone through the roof.†Patterson admitted he had set out to unsettle Bell. “We’ve just tried to –---- him up, really, to try and break him mentally. I wanted to see him puke, because I’m being paid to do a job. If you don’t like it, don’t come back again. I want to get the best out of you. But Bell just kept coming back. “We’ve had him tied to me on a harness, sprinting away, 12st versus 18st, we’ve had him sprinting with his kit on, doing hill sprints, and then on the pads, sparring in full batting kit. I’m definitely working him mentally, as well as physically. That is part of the plan for when he’s out there batting for long periods, which can be up to five hours in a day. He’s told me it’s the fittest he’s been in a very long time. “I think he was a bit wary at first, because he thought he’d get hurt by me in sparring, but he has really come on. He has been good at his punch and resistance work, and his grappling and wrestling has improved. I had him punching me to the body. When he first started, he would look at me and he was thinking, ‘what have I got myself into here?’ But he soon realised that I was there to help him, not hurt him. I wasn’t going to learn anything, nor was he, from me beating him up. “We’ve been at the indoor nets doing circuits with him, where he is on the bowling machine, and then into sprints and pad work — jabs, hooks, and uppercuts. Then I’ll lean on him and push him around in a grappling session, so he can work on his strength and resistance.†Bell was dropped from the England team in 2009, but has come back stronger, earning plaudits in this series for both technique and temperament. “His training has helped in that. I had respect for him when I stood behind the net with the ball coming at 95 miles an hour. That takes courage, I’m sure,†said Patterson. “I was fighting in MMA 15 years ago. My background is kick boxing — with grappling and wrestling added later. But I’m mainly a stand-up fighter, and that’s what I’m passing on to Bell. He has really got into it. At the end of last session with him, before he went off to the Ashes in Australia, I gave him a pat on the back. He looked forward to his sessions, he was enjoying it. The improvements from two 45-minute high-intensity sessions a week were unreal. “It surprised me how much he changed. He puts his own hard work in. Lots of other sportsmen do cross-training in mixed martial arts, especially the rugby boys, but I don’t think many cricketers would. If he does it head on with me, it’s like as if they are getting stuck into him out there. Because they do get stuck in over there. I know Ian Bell’s not a fighter, but I’ve pushed him as hard as I can, and he’s more aggressive, more ruthless, now, and he’s taken that training and intensity with him over to Australia.†At 1-1, it is time for Bell to show his fighting spirit.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/cricket/international/theashes/8217527/The-Ashes-2010-Englands-cagefighter-Ian-Bell-shows-Australia-ruthless-streak.html :woot: tips for Sir Jadeja perhaps?

[Serani]

Barrington or "one eyed Baz" as he is called is a scary mofo! Met him a few times around Birmingham city matches and certainly wouldnt want to get in his way.