Ian Bell will get back within the national team setup, says England coach Trevor Bayliss
Ian Bell’s exclusion from the English side for the South Africa tour has drawn a lot of criticism but coach Trevor Bayliss is thinking in a different way. He feels that a ‘break’ from the team has helped Jos Butler, it will be so in Bell’s case as well.
For England’s tour of South Africa, Bayliss said though Bell’s experience was considered, he felt the cricketer needed a break like Buttler to improve. According to a report on ESPNcricinfo, the coach said, “The discussion point was obviously his experience, I think we do need experience in the team [but] where we ended up was that he hadn't been scoring runs over the last year or two, periodically anyway, and it was thought to give him a bit of time away from the game and refresh as well, but also to give some newer younger guys that opportunity.”
Buttler recalled what a friend of his had said a few years ago. “An old mate of mine, an Australian selector, a few years ago said to me, 'There's nothing like a good dropping to get a player back on track',” said England’s coach. After his comeback to the national team, Buttler has scored a record breaking century from 46 balls against Pakistan in Dubai.
A former cricketer himself, Bayliss believes Bell has good chances of making a comeback to the team but youngsters should also be given chances. He added, “Looking at it going forward, Belly's certainly got it within him to get back in the team for sure but it's an exciting opportunity for these younger players coming in to make a go of their careers.”
Talking about Buttler and how the break was beneficial for the player, England’s coach said, “It's not that he wasn't trying hard enough but I think when he was left out there was a definite relief come over him and it just allowed him to get away, refresh his thinking and I think it's done him the world of good, to be quite honest. No one ever likes to get dropped but he's shown what a good team man he is, that Test match he got dropped for he was out throwing balls to his team-mates. He's an important part of this team and squad and all credit to him, you just love it when guys like that can come out and do what he did.”