“To have three now against Australia is exactly where I want to be,” says the England middle-order batsman Ian Bell. Bell has scored two centuries in the two test matches of this series so far and would be looking to continue his good form. He wants that England should be aware of Aussies in the Third Test because they might come hard in this do or die situation.
Ian Bell had a decent average of 32 in 18 Ashes Tests before the current series and was a easy victim for Australian pacers but his current form has shut his critics' mouth. It’s because of his ascendancy in his batting that Aussies are finding it hard to penetrate the English middle-order and if he continues to do so, then they will have a tough time ahead.
He was quoted by Hindustan Times saying, "From my first couple of Ashes series I knew I had to improve on that. The Australian team I started against was pretty good, so it is nice to be putting my hand up now as a senior player when we've needed it.”
"I feel pretty confident right now and it is good to be putting it together in an Ashes series which is what I've wanted to do. I don't really feel too bad about the previous series but it is nice to be able to do things when the team need it most and scoring hundreds is what you want to do,” he added.
England is already 2-0 up in this series even a draw in Third test, which is going to start at Old Trafford next week, would allow them to retain the Ashes. And with the kind of record that Bell carries at this venue, anyone should hardly doubt why he can’t get his another century in this series.
He has scored two hundreds and a 97 in five Manchester Tests, at an average of 87. But at the same time he is wary of that hard fought draw that Aussies played in 2005 summer. Meanwhile the recent reports in The Hindu quoted him saying, "I know that the Test matches I've been involved in there, we've got a good record, so it is a good place for England to go to now," Bell said.
"The 2005 Test was a game we were targeting another win at. But Australia battled right to the end. They were so excited about getting the draw, so you felt a little shift in the series right there because they were happy to get out of it,” he said.
He went onto say, "It was an intense game as all Ashes games are and I would expect another tough game coming up. Coming into this series, it has been about contributing to the team and at Lord's we had to work hard in different periods of the game and we got our rewards at the end.”
"It has been hard work, but these couple of days will give us a nice break from the cricket so we're right for Old Trafford," he concluded.