< 1 minute read Maybe we should consider him two different batsmen – Ian Bell, the guy who chips one to cover, and I.Ron Bell, the guy who plays these sorts of innings. (Make your own metallurgical puns. We had a look at the iron Wikipedia page with a view to coming up with
Continue readingTag: Ian Bell
What’s today’s barometer reading?
2 minute read Some read yesterday’s post as being criticism of Ian Bell, which wasn’t really how it was intended. We just feel that of all the England players, his performances are the ones that most closely correlate with how the team fares. On day five of the third Test against New Zealand,
Continue readingThe barometer says England never looked like winning
< 1 minute read Talk of an England win has been unjustifiably common during this Test. You never know what’s likely to happen in a match, but you can tailor conversation according to likelihood and at no point has an England victory seemed probable. Even talking about how they could possibly engineer a winning
Continue readingBell and Pietersen bat for no-one
< 1 minute read Sometimes you bat for your team-mates. Let’s imagine there’s only one threatening bowler in the opposition attack. If you can put some mileage into his legs, you make it easier for the batsmen who follow you. To some extent, it doesn’t really matter how many runs you score. You are
Continue readingIan Bell wants to play one-day cricket
2 minute read In a parallel universe, players and fans care about one-day internationals – or, more accurately, one-day internationals are worth caring about. In this universe, we’ll have to muddle through, making the best of flukes and serendipity. Kevin Pietersen retired from one-day internationals because on the morning of a game, he
Continue readingIan Bell: Lord Megachief of Gold 2011
2 minute read That’s right – Ian Bell. Weird but true. Dale Steyn came pretty close to becoming the second player to earn a promotion to Grand Lord Megachief of Gold, but Ian Bell’s year was just too ridiculous to overlook. Some numbers 11 Test innings, 950 runs, five hundreds, an average of
Continue readingWhen India allowed Ian Bell to carry on batting at Trent Bridge
< 1 minute read Cricket action stops and starts and we didn’t feel very comfortable with someone being run-out when pretty much everyone on the field had stopped playing. We don’t care too much about the technical rights and wrongs and everyone on the field seemed to share those feelings once they’d had a
Continue readingIan Bell and middle-order batting
< 1 minute read Batsmen always want to play at the top of the order. This might be because they realise that you get more recognition up there. Well we’d like to recognise Ian Bell’s middle-order skills. Runs equal plaudits and while top-order batsmen face the new ball, they can also approach batting however
Continue readingIan Bell’s year – an actual opinion
< 1 minute read Don’t be afraid. We’re experimenting with having opinions. We meant to say it before the first Test – and maybe this isn’t the best timing when he’s on 98 not out – but we think Ian Bell will be England’s best batsmen in the next 12 months. Ashes 2010-11 Bell’s
Continue readingIan Bell, James Anderson and doing a bit better when things aren’t in your favour
2 minute read It’s always tempting to judge players on their best days, but with anything long-term – a cricket career, a relationship, an overnight stint watching the Ashes on TV – a better form of evaluation is to look at what happens when things aren’t in your favour. You learn a lot
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