Bell selection makes sense...

Monday was bittersweet for Ian Bell. Where the wretched Birmingham weather had contrived to dash any hopes he may have harboured of scoring the additional 24 runs required to ensure he became the first Warwickshire player to score a Test century at Edgbaston, the rather more soothing news that he had been restored to England’s One Day International side as an opener offered some consolation. 

Many, perhaps even Bell himself, had felt that the Warwickshire batsman’s limited overs career was all but over after being dropped prior to the Pakistan ODI series at the beginning of the year, a series in which England seemed to make great strides as they cantered to a 4-0 victory. 

So often Bell's ODI story...

Bell has been somewhat of an enigma in ODI cricket, yet whilst the England management’s multi-lingual talents have not been called upon they are hitherto to succeed in unravelling the mystery of how such a wonderfully gifted batsman has managed to muster such decidedly mediocre returns (how modern history might have differed had Chancellor Hitler been granted access to an Ian Bell). It will have been a source of great frustration. An average of 34.04 at a strike-rate of 73.31 in ODI’s, with one century and 19 half-centuries, does little to warm the cockles. 

Perhaps such underwhelming ODI returns can be ascribed to Bell’s key scoring areas being cut off. That delicious late cut to third man, cover drives not so much dripping with class as haemorrhaging and a crisp clip through the square-leg region have brought Bell considerable success in Test cricket, yet defensive field settings oft encountered during ODI’s tend to remove those from his spectrum. For a player that attains a high percentage of his runs in boundaries it presents a sizeable problem, much as Test wicket-keeper Matt Prior has discovered in the shorter formats of the game. 

As an opener, Bell’s prowess diminishes further (he has played 28 of his 108 ODI’s as an opening batsman), where his average reduces to 33 and his strike-rate to 70.69. Far from inspirational, yet if there is a place for Ian Bell in this side then it is limited to such a role. As opener, Bell has the freedom to play classically during the initial powerplay overs when the aforementioned scoring areas remain unattended, and possesses the lofted straight shots necessary to combat spinners outside of them. 

The wisdom of a top three containing Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott has been questioned in some quarters, and admittedly on paper looks to present all the aggression of a tranquilised kitten, but in those three batsmen England possess a solidarity that provides the perfect foil for their stylistic preference. Where many sides look to score heavily whilst fielding restrictions are in place, England appear to have reverted to the old fashioned ethos of building steadily and keeping wickets in hand for an assault at the death. A scrupulously ungenerous bowling attack renders this a possibility. It isn’t spectacular, it isn’t exhilarating, but if performances in the UAE are anything to go by, it is effectual and more importantly suits England’s personnel. 

So many doubts, yet Bell finds himself in sublime form. Averaging 111 in the recently concluded Test series against the West Indies, and with 82 runs to his name in the CB40 competition for Warwickshire just last month, confidence will be sky high. In fact, confidence will be rather fearful that a chap named Ian Bell is threatening to usurp it from its throne of haughtiness, thus ending a reign last interrupted by the mindset of Moses moments after his successful parting of the Red Sea. A new ball from either end should prove an advantage for Bell, too, where his sweet timing and placement ought to bring full value for his shots. 

There will be no more chances, though, should this latest experiment fail. Bell is not merely visiting Last Chance Saloon, rather embarking upon a desperate struggle to cling on to the bar rail as an irritated doorman hauls him out after receiving his ticket, but where stepping in to the shoes of the now retired Kevin Pietersen may once have rendered the unassuming Bell a mere rabbit in the headlights, and though his current record suggests otherwise, there is an inkling he may just prove a revelation.

England in Sri Lanka: 2nd Warm-up Report and Series Prediction

As England’s second three day warm-up match of this two Test ‘mini-tour’ of Sri Lanka culminated in an unexpectedly exciting finale, thus averting one of those all too familiarly insipid draws so often associated with this beautiful isle, a sense of foreboding ahead of the upcoming five day stuff had still managed to lodge itself deep within my admittedly negative psyche.

Up against a Sri Lankan Cricket Development XI containing plenty of experience in the form of Test capped Chamara Silva, the SSC stadium in Colombo produced a pitch that can only be described as a road, and as roads go this belonged more in the Autobahn category than cobbled side street. Had it not been for two rather generous declarations from the Development XI this fixture may well have been devoid of incident for its entirety. 

England's bowlers toiled

You will hear few complaints from struggling England captain Andrew Strauss, who went on to register a solid first innings century before retiring out. Having last returned a first-class three figure score in the first Ashes Test of 2010, Strauss will have been mighty relieved to spend some time in the middle. Jonathan Trott, Strauss’s makeshift opening partner in place of the rested Alastair Cook, also looked assured in reaching his own century. Trott, one of England’s consistent performers since his introduction to the side, will be quietly pleased after having his own somewhat less documented struggles than his captain of late. 

Kevin Pietersen looked in good order when making brisk contributions of 26 and 52, with the trio of Ravi Bopara, Samit Patel and Matt Prior all providing significant assistance. England’s key concern remains the recent form of Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell, who made just 14 and 11 following his second ball duck in the first of the warm-up fixtures. After enjoying a stellar 2011, Bell’s start to 2012 has been a forgettable one thus far, though it would be somewhat of a surprise should his name be absent from the line-up come the morning of the first Test in Galle on Monday. 

England’s bowlers, without the rested James Anderson and Monty Panesar, had struggled on day one as the Development XI scored with unabated ease. A lack of assistance from the benign wicket coupled with soaring temperatures in Colombo was largely to blame; Matt Prior kept wicket without pads such was the heat. Chamara Silva prospered at England’s expense, stroking an effortless 163 before eventually falling to Steven Finn. 

England’s management are probably quietly satisfied with their charges being made to toil in unfavourable conditions. Acclimatising to the heat and humidity is so often a key factor in a tour of Sri Lanka, and the dogged perseverance of England’s bowling unit paid tribute to the superb fitness regime currently in place under the stewardship of Andy Flower. 

The Development XI found life no easier upon taking to the field on day two following a sporting first innings declaration at 431-6. England’s openers coasted to 197 without loss before Strauss retired out in altruistic fashion. Indeed, if events in Colombo on Wednesday were anything to go by, England may have more than just their Sri Lankan humanoid counterparts to contend with. Clearly sympathetic with the plight of the Development XI in the field several local critters gallantly offered their services. At one moment, with Jonathan Trott just having reached three figures, the Development XI were aided by a monitor lizard fielding at point, along with a rather surly looking cobra sweeping the boundaries edge. 

My sense of foreboding happens to extend beyond the admirably loyalist local fauna, though. Sri Lanka is dubbed ‘the home of the draw’ for good reason, and pitches like that at the SSC in Colombo are a prime example as to why. In short, Test cricket does not need draws. Furthermore, Sri Lanka as a nation does not need draws. 

The travails of Sri Lankan cricket have been well documented of late. A country in the midst of civil war and subject to ineffable atrocities, cricket has so often awarded temporary solace to many, but with inner turmoil and players going unpaid for lengthy periods of time its captivating power may be on the wane in this cricketing hotbed. 

Scores of 600, inevitably resulting in drawn Test matches, will do little to re-captivate that audience. Competitive wickets with a propensity for nail-biting finishes are vital to re-igniting the fervour so often witnessed during the halcyon days of Muttiah Muralitharan. Muralitharan had within his person the power to unite a nation, and whilst no current Sri Lankan cricketer can claim to possess the widespread appeal of the legendary off-spinner, it is within the remit of the curators to produce pitches conducive to exciting cricket so that similar levels of interest snare the attention of the masses. 

Unfortunately, I speak in hope. The reality is that the atrocities are likely to continue, the country will remain divided and Sri Lanka’s cricketing hierarchy have some way to go before their own house is in order. Test cricket has the ability to restore a degree of national pride and unity, and it is for that reason that competitive wickets are essential in the forthcoming series. 

If recent fixtures tell us anything, England can expect to be playing on featherbed pitches offering little assistance for the bowlers of both sides. In such heat and humidity the cricket is likely to be of an attritional nature; one batting collapse or inspired spell of bowling could win or lose a Test match. For what it’s worth, my own prediction is a dull 0-0 draw across the two Tests. 

England’s batsmen, having shown good form across the warm-up fixtures, should prosper against an attack that is notably weaker than that of their Pakistani tormentors in the UAE. Sri Lanka’s own batsmen are naturally well adept in their home conditions and perennial stalwarts Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene may prove particularly difficult to dislodge. 

Both sides possess genuine match winners, but will the wickets produced make victory a possibility? England certainly hope so, and for the beleaguered nation of Sri Lanka there may be wider reaching effects than purely the result of a Test match.

Rehman gives England the Trott's...

Whilst Jonathan Trott was experiencing plenty of uncomfortable off field troubles of his own in Abu Dhabi this afternoon, his fellow England batsmen were providing a similarly gut wrenching performance to a horror struck audience back home, only this time in a cricketing sense.

After the continual successes of the past two years, England supporters could perhaps have been forgiven for believing that a run chase of 145 was well within their achievable means. England of old would have made hard work of such an insignificant total, leaving nails chewed to the bone by the time all was said and done, but not this England; someone always steps up to the plate.

Alas, not in Asia, it would seem. Ghosts of Multan in 2005 returned to haunt Andy Flower’s men, and it was painfully evident that England’s batsmen are yet to conquer this particular fear. 198 was the fourth innings target set in Multan, only for England to be bowled out for 175. Danish Kaneria did the damage then, taking 4-62 as England crumbled in Pakistan’s backyard, and it was the spinners that left England humiliated once more here in Abu Dhabi as they crashed to an abysmal 72 all out.

There are two striking similarities between the debacle of 2005 and the humbling in Abu Dhabi; both defeats were to Pakistan, and both were in a series following England beating the then number one ranked side in the world, Australia and India respectively. After wins of such enormity where runs have come at ease, the travails of England’s batsmen in sub-continental conditions are highly unlikely to be confidence related, one would think.

Abdur Rehman decimated England with 6-25

Of course, there is always pressure involved with a run chase; particularly those targets that you are expected to comfortably reach. An early wicket, as was the case when Mohammad Hafeez removed Alastair Cook caught and bowled with England on just 21, only serves to increase the anxiety.

In this instance, though, England’s batsmen did not look panicked or outwardly ruffled. England’s problems, as has been the case in each of the two Tests played thus far in this three Test series, stemmed from the lack of technique and absence of intent from each and every one of their top order batsmen.

An infuriating tendency to play back to almost every ball delivered by Pakistan’s trio of spinners, coupled with a complete lack of willingness to utilise their footwork to nullify the purchase gained from the surface, left England’s batsmen prodding and poking at ball after ball from deep within their crease, simultaneously allowing the spinners of Pakistan to build pressure whilst adding very few runs to the total.

Ian Bell, in at number three as a result of Jonathan Trott’s unfortunate ailment, was rather unlucky; defending an Ajmal delivery down in to the pitch, only to see it spin back through his legs and dislodge a bail from the stumps. Captain Andrew Strauss fought hard, struggling to an agonising 32 from 100 balls before being put out of his misery by Abdur Rehman, but the stagnant nature of his innings summed up just how insipid a batting effort this was from the team who prior to this series had no less than four batsmen sitting inside the ICC top ten rankings.

Despite the ghastly showing from England’s batsmen, full credit must go to the bowlers of Pakistan. Abdur Rehman and Saeed Ajmal in particular were truly outstanding, giving the batsmen very little to hit without taking significant risk. Rehman exploited the appreciable turn on offer to cause nightmares for the right handed batsmen as he saw many a delivery played at and missed, but it was against the left handers that he had considerable success. Pitching in the rough and spinning back in to the left handers, Rehman dismissed Andrew Strauss leg before wicket and rearranged the stumps of both Eoin Morgan and Stuart Broad, before picking up the final wicket courtesy of a top edged slog from James Anderson. Final innings figures of 6-25 were just reward for a magnificent spell.

Ajmal, as is his wont, again had England tied up in knots with subtle changes in pace and clever use of the dreaded doosra; a delivery that very few England batsmen are showing even the faintest sign of reading. Playing constantly off the back foot, England’s batsmen were nothing more than sitting ducks waiting to be picked off by these unerringly accurate marksmen.

Pakistan’s captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, is the antithesis of his countries recent cricketing history. Calm, composed and a strong believer in consistency of selection, he has almost single-handedly reformed Test cricket for this great cricketing nation. Gone are the political controversies, departed is the inner turmoil inside the Pakistan dressing room, and no more are the brainless shots that cost many a Pakistan batsman his wicket that were so evident during their last tour of England. Under Misbah, Pakistan are once more a force to be reckoned with on the international scene, and Test cricket can only prosper as a result.   

If confidence amongst England’s batsmen was high coming in to this series, it will have all but deserted them by now. A captain that has scored just one century in almost two and a half years, and a middle order that cannot buy a run out here in the United Arab Emirates will cause plenty of thinking to be done ahead of England’s next tour to Sri Lanka where similar conditions are likely to be experienced. Calls for widespread change are of course premature after just two poor Test matches, but Eoin Morgan is one batsman that will be spending plenty of time looking over his shoulder prior to the dead rubber third Test at Dubai next week. After failing to consistently impress even as England crushed India last year, Morgan’s abject failures in this series will likely see him replaced by Ravi Bopara at number six in the England line-up.

At 2-0 down, the third and final Test at Dubai has now become something of a salvage mission for England’s batsmen; a chance to regain a measure of pride and faith in their own ability to play successful cricket in these conditions. You have to feel for England’s bowlers, Stuart Broad and Monty Panesar in particular, who have taken to the task of bowling on difficult pitches with aplomb only to be let down by their batting counterparts. That is one positive to take from this otherwise disappointing series, and a source of hope for their tour of Sri Lanka, at least.

England are still number one, just, and a big performance is needed in Dubai if they wish to persuade anyone that they’re still worthy of such a title. They say a win in Asia is the benchmark of a great side, but going on the evidence presented across the last two weeks we may just have to be a little less lavish in our praise for the time being.