All 1 entries tagged Hughes

Ian Bell talks a good game, but can he deliver?

Unless you have been on a different planet for the last week or so, you will know that Kevin Pietersen is set to miss the remaining three test matches of this year’s Ashes series. You may also know that Ian Bell – who was dropped from the side earlier this year – is the man who will replace him.

It has been confirmed that the Warwickshire man will look to fill KP’s boots by batting at No.4 for England. This means there is plenty of pressure on Bell to deliver the goods. Can he turn his County form into runs against Australia? Can he make sure England don’t miss Pietersen?

Before we go into this, I wanted to bring some of Ian Bell’s Twitter updates to your attention. The fact he calls himself IanBellMBE probably says it all, but it is fair to say that he is rather confident in his ability and his place in the England team! Take a look...

‘Brett Lee out of the first Test - my mum's right, you never know what's going to happen. Maybe Colly will get injured too!’

'Liam has picked Australia - I'm playing as England! I've put myself in at no.3! Bad luck Ravi, you're not on EA Cricket 07!’

‘Had lots of texts from my mates today about KP's injury. The man's a legend but - if selected - I'm determined to step up to the plate’

‘Back where I belong!’ (speaking about being confirmed in the England eleven for Edgbaston)

Anyway, enough about Bell’s tweets. It’s his runs that we should be more focused on and I am confident that he can produce plenty. He is a class player who has performed well at international level in the past and there is no reason why he can’t excel again.

A lot could depend on his first innings. If he manages to get a century, or even a fifty at the first time of asking, it will do his confidence no end of good. Then, he has the talent to go on and have a big say on the remainder of this series.

For now, take a good look at the Third Test oddsbefore any Edgbaston test betting.

: 30 Jul 2009 10:31 |  Tags: Ashes Australia Bell Cricket England Hughes Test |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem