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| | Friday, 21 June, 2002, 10:48 GMT 11:48 UK Ian Bell for England? Warwickshire youngster Ian Bell scores an unbeaten 65 off 89 balls to help his team to victory over Essex in the last ever B&H Cup final at Lord's. Do you think he is ready for England?
Ian Bell's man-of-the-match winning performance ensures Warwickshire take the plaudits and the trophy at Lord's on Saturday. Bell was the top-scorer in the match with 65, to once again put his name forward for inclusion in the England squad. Together with fellow youngster Troughton, Bell added 84 for the third wicket, in a partnership that turned the match on its head. The 19-year-old was singled out for special praise by the director of the England Cricket Academy, Rod Marsh. Should England give Bell a place in their XI? This debate is now closed. A selection of your e-mails appear below. Why are the England selectors always so willing to give older players a second or third chance, but never younger players their first? If you are good enough you are old enough and Ian Bell is certainly good enough. There has to be a balance in any team of youth and experience. Currently England have a good balance.
All this talk of Ian Bell being considered for England solely on the basis of his 65 not out in the B&H final is ridiculous. Those who are well versed with the county game should know that Bell is close to averaging 50 in county cricket in the championship games he has played for Warwickshire. He's been considered as England potential for the last couple of seasons which is why he earned his trip to the academy in Australia. The B&H final just underlined his class and ability to deliver under pressure. He may still have to wait for an England place but it'll be worth it. Promoting academy players is definitely the way forward. Bell has shown consistent form throughout the last two seasons; his class shows, not his age. Did Pakistan rush the 17-year-old Waqar or Australia the 21-year-old Warne? Play him against India and not when we are 3-0 down in the Ashes! Ian Bell must play for England this summer and winter because he has the ability and, in my opinion, will one day captain the side.
It is going to be very hard to fit him into our current team. If a player gets injured or we decide to play eight batsmen (a tactic that has not worked in the past) then I think Bell should be given first choice ahead of John Crawley. Paul Swindell, England Ian Bell is undoubtedly ready to make his test debut. His technique and attitude look very sound but England should not re-shuffle a winning team to incorporate him. He is an opener by nature and, as the failures of Ian Ward showed last year, it would be counter productive to bat him out of position. With Mark Butcher currently recovering from knee surgery, the fist test against India could be the ideal opportunity. Ian Bell appears to have the ability, and unlike some youngsters who have been blooded too early, he appears to have the temperament. At the moment we have a batting line-up that seems to be working well, Bell should be first reserve, his time will come. Looking at our dismal one day record, why not try Blackwell and Flintoff in the middle order? A gamble, but who else in the world hits balls out of the stadium on such a regular basis, and they are both useful bowlers. Take heed as the World Cup approaches and Blackwell and Flintoff are no longer that young. Get them playing as soon as possible.
Like Australia, England need to pick their best side. If this includes Crawley (who is only 30 and has years in front of him) then so be it. It is not worth bringing in Bell for a one-off match. It will ruin his confidence if he gets a low score. If he is brought in, it must be for at least seven or eight test matches in a row. Marc, UK England should give Bell a chance. We have being hearing about him since the tour to New Zealand. The England team needs some fresh blood. In the Indian squad for the tests in England, they have two wicket keepers aged 17 and 21. The average age of the Indian team for this tour is 23 or 24. It is a good balance of youth and senior players like Tendulkar and Ganguly, who themselves haven't reached the age of 30 yet. Our English team mainly consists of players already in their 30s. It is time to introduce young players like other cricketing nations do. The benchmark for cricket is the Australian team. Now they never change a winning setup unless a player has seriously underperformed. I can't see how we could accommodate either Key or Bell at the moment, no one is doing badly enough to merit being dropped.
We could experiment in the bowling department, although India have the batsmen to ruin anyone's confidence. The test side is balanced at the moment and there is no need to change. Paul Hallett, Banbury, UK From what I have seen of Bell, he looks to be a pretty good player. He certainly gets a lot of good reviews. I'm unsure about giving him his England debut though. Firstly, who are you going to leave out to give him a game? It would seem grossly unfair to drop any of the current side. Playing Stewart as the all-rounder enables us to field a balanced side, and playing another batsman just for the sake of it would appear to be counterproductive. There are other young batsman in the country who deserve a chance, not just Bell, people like Robert Key. He has been consistently successful for Kent for the last two seasons, surely he deserves a try if anyone does. Bell is talented but I am concerned he is going to be another victim of the Hick/Ramprakash/Lathwell syndrome. He already has such massive expectation on his shoulders that, unless he scores a massive century on debut, he will be classed as a failure. I would hate to see another burgeoning talent ruined by being pushed too far, too soon.
Why are the England selectors always so willing to give older players a second or third chance, but never younger players their first chance. If you are good enough you are old enough and Ian Bell is certainly good enough. Matt Pryke, England Call me old-fashioned, but being selected for your country is the highest honour for any sportsman - and that honour should be earned, not gifted on potential. Forget Ian Bell. It should be Andy Strauss from Middlesex. He has matured since taking over as captain and his left-handed stroke-play is a joy to watch. He was a hero of mine at school and I am sure he can go on and succeed on the international stage. Get him straight in there without a shadow of doubt. I'd also like to know what Afzaal has done wrong since making his debut. With a bit of work, he could also be class. If Bell is good enough, let him play, and give him a year to find his feet. That is what India, Zimbabwe, Wales, Bangladesh, Holland etc would do! What they must avoid is repeating their old mistakes by playing him in one match then dropping him.
As a Warwickshire member I am biased! But I do agree that the England top order is doing well and no-one should be dropped. He must be introduced eventually and let's not do it in Brisbane or Sydney. Maybe next summer. We missed a chance at the start of the summer so let's wait a year. And let's handle him better than Mark Ramprakash who first made his name in a one-day final. I think England's man-management is much better now though. The issue about not having played enough first class games is daft. Gillespie, Lee and other Aussies had only played a handful of State games before playing for Australia. If you are good enough you should be in. It may be worth having him in the squad now against two of the weaker bowling attacks to let him find his feet. If we were in Australia he would have played 20 or 30 Test matches. I also think he would not be a bad idea for the World Cup team because with the big hitters in the team we need someone like that to hold it together. I'm happy with the current England setup and I feel morale will be high in the camp. We are playing India soon and with their awful bowling attack, I feel it would be the perfect time to blood a youngster such as Ian Bell. I also hear the name Ian Blackwell mentioned and if he can play like Flintoff can, he should be picked for our One-Day World Cup squad. He is a talented youngster, and we need to push him through to the national side. We haven't been able to compete with the likes of the Aussies and SA regularly and consistently. We have had a problem with bringing the youngsters through in the past.
Instead of bringing back players like Crawley (in the instance of the first Test vs SL) we should opt for players like Bell, who would blossom from gaining international experience. Krish, UK Well done Ian Bell for a great performance. It's important for England to concentrate on youth but making sure we do not bring them to international level to early. It's a promising sign to see players like Ian Bell coming through. Give him a go. I have seen him play a few times on TV. and he has a very solid technique so I say we should try and blood him during the summer Tests against India. Historically, youngsters brought into the England side on the first flush of ability fail. Leave him to play at least another season in the counties.
Surely you can't consider a youngster for an England place until he does it consistently in the County Championship. To promote someone to the Test arena before he is established will not do him or the team any good. He has to deliver before he is considered. Now is the time for the selectors to give Ian Bell his chance to play for England for the simple reason that there are not enough young batsmen coming through to play for England. Now is the time for England to start blooding youngsters into the team especially now that Hussain, Thorpe and Stewart are nearing the end of their careers. Ian Bell should be called up to the England set up and should have been in the first Test of the summer. As Stewart is keeping wicket that gives us a place for an extra batsman and Belly is much more of a long term world class prospect than bringing back the disappointing Foster.
Ian has played well all season, not just today. The real question is if he played for Essex/Surrey or Middlesex how many caps would he have had by now? There is still a bias towards players from those counties. Trescothick, Vaughan, Butcher, Hussain and Thorpe give us a top five of a quality we have not seen for years. But we need to plan for succession. Crawley was an odd choice for the extra bat in the first Test given his age and track record. Yes, if Ian Bell is the best quality of the young players coming through, put him in as the sixth bat if tactics require one or when one of the five inevitably is injured. Bringing someone into a national team on the basis of one fifty and that too in a mediocre level competition is too hasty. The cream will always come to the top, Ian Bell may have to wait for his England call up, when he does watch out this lad has real class.
Without a doubt, yes. He's not going to play in this England side until Australia - unless either one of the top six fails or is injured. Making his debut against Australia will of course be the biggest test for any debutant - but to me he oozes class, time, shot and patience; all the right ingredients for a Test match player. He does NOT look a 20-year-old batsman! If he is managed correctly, Ian Bell could even beat Border's Test runs record. While the diplay by Bell was impressive and the ability to produce on the big occasion is important an England debut should still be a way off. With England performing well and the set backs to a number of young players of international debuts too early in their career means that the likes of Bell and Peng (Durham) need to continue to develop in the county game and with the a side before they are thrown in to the international arena
First of all Ian bell was a pupil at my school so to me he is a living ledgend. And secondly yes. He has worked so, so hard. Just at least give him a try. Alex Corkhill, England 65 runs in a final and you're considered for a England cap? With the England team doing so well, whose place will he take? I'd rather see a powerful one day player like Ian Blackwell, who so harshly missed out on the academy. Keep an eye on him! | |
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