BBC SPORT | Cricket | Counties | Young guns go for it



By Ben Kunicki BBC Sport Online

Warwickshire youngster Ian Bell has long been touted as a future England player and against Essex in the Benson and Hedges Cup final he re-affirmed his promise once more.

However, Jim Troughton almost matched him and together the pair closed the door on Essex after early wickets had started the nerves jangling.

The pair lit up a final which had been set for a grinding conclusion with a display of enthusiasm only possible by those who know little of defeat.

Vicious hitting

Their 50 partnership came up in just 39 balls and by the time they were parted Warwickshire were well over half their way to the target with over half their overs left.

Troughton in particular was vicious with his hitting, showing good timing and clean execution.

In comparison, Bell was slightly more sedate guiding the ball into gaps with exemplary technique, looking ever inch the international player, following a difficult start to the season.

A young Mark Ramprakash
Ramprakash shone as an 18-year-old at Lord's

"There were some tricky pitches and I got some good deliveries but things turn around," Bell said.

"I just went out there with Jamie and played as if it was a normal game. We played a lot of under-19s and second team cricket together and we just treated it as a normal siuation."

Lord's finals have thrown up England players before, most notably with Mark Ramprakash's performance in the NatWest Trophy final in 1988.

However, the then 18-year-old Ramprakash was made to wait another three years before making his Test debut.

With Bell it has now become a case of not if but when he begins his international career, although the prospect of an immediate debut looks unlikely.

Sportstalk: Bell ready for England?

All England's Test batsmen are secure in their places and although Bell seems certain to go to Australia in the winter, asking him to make his debut there may be more than the selectors wish him to take on.

It has already been noted that England may have missed a trick not including Bell in the team at the beginning of the summer against a less than threatening Sri Lankan attack.

It would also be relevant to suggest that the selectors have spurned another opportunity in not including Bell in the upcoming NatWest series despite the fact that he averages 45 in one-day cricket this season.

The maturity Bell showed in the way he paced his innings against Essex shows that he is more than capable of playing one-day cricket at the highest level.

Yet maybe the comparisons between himself and Mike Atherton have affected the thinking when deciding on his international future.

Ian Bell chats to Jim Troughton
The two youngsters showed no fear

As for Troughton, the 23-year-old has been a revelation since coming into the Warwickshire side this season for the injured Mark Wagh.

The left-hander averages over fifty in first-class cricket this season, having made 460 runs so far including two centuries.

Still most of the talk revolves around the acting tradition of his family, including his Doctor Who grandfather Patrick, but more innings like this will change that quickly.

If Troughton can maintain his form he looks a certainty for the England Academy in the winter, which will be a triumph for a player who looked set for a bit part role at the start of the year.

Either way for the time being at least Warwickshire will continue to benefit from their young stars in the middle-order and with the team standing second bottom of the championship they'll need them.


	Links to more Counties stories