5 minute read Shane Watson’s run-out for 103 during the Perth Test of the 2013/14 Ashes was one of the all-time great comedy dismissals. This is why. As an England fan, it’s easy to steer your gaze away from the 2013/14 Ashes. It wasn’t just a defeat, it was an annihilation. And it
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3 minute read As Ian Bell retires from first-class cricket, let’s talk about a player whose Test record was plenty good enough but whose technique honestly left us kind of cold. Ian Bell was player of the series in a 3-0 Ashes win. Can we just state that first before we get into
Continue reading< 1 minute read They’ve only gone and dropped him. Dropped him as if he were a cricket ball and they were him standing in the slips at some point in the last 12 months. There’s a hideous video on the ECB Twitter feed where selector James Whitaker mouths the usual platitudes about Bell
Continue reading2 minute read Turns out Ian Bell’s not retiring. You may have heard that he maybe possibly was. You may not. Either way, he isn’t. The umming and ahhing does hint that his career is nearly at an end though. Soon enough, the bell will toll and watching Bell will no longer take
Continue reading< 1 minute read We’re way past Ian Bell 2.0. Being as he’s 33 and batting at three, we’re going to call this incarnation Ian Bell 33.3. Hopefully that won’t prove to be its batting average. Most of the previous Ian Bells have looked solid only to get out in infuriating fashion when you
Continue reading2 minute read This isn’t really about Ian Bell. It’s about English cricket’s attitude to age and the impact of the international schedule as it is now. When an England player has a spell of poor form, it is generally described in one of two ways. Young players are ‘found out’ while older
Continue reading< 1 minute read Ian Bell made 187 off 145 balls against the Prime Minister’s XI in England’s latest warm-up match. Okay, so it’s not exactly the biggest match ever – Chris Rogers bowled two overs – but what’s more reassuring, making 187 off 145 balls or making 26 off 38? This constitutes further
Continue reading4 minute read There are a lot of optimists in the world and the problem with positive people is that they assume that positivity itself is some sort of positive. It’s all well and good swanning about thinking everything will work out, but really you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment and failure.
Continue reading< 1 minute read Well that was – actually, what was that? It’s probably a bit early to be committing to specific words, so let’s not. England have won the Ashes. That’s a functional way of saying it. You can add your own emotions internally. England won every Test in which Ian Bell scored
Continue reading< 1 minute read When did Ian Bell turn into a big, relentless steamroller? He always used to be a two-seater sports car. He was sleek and flash, but entirely impractical when you came to do the big shop. These days he’s not just practical, he’s reliable as well. His big engine chunters away
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