The Ashes 2013 - Ian Bell: Unsung hero till the very end

Ian Bell

The Ashes – the ultimate Test. Every cricketer would want to play in the Ashes some day. It is often described as a regular bilateral Test series played between two of cricket’s greatest rivals. What is not true is the word ‘regular’. This particular series has a history so magnificent attached to it, that it is anything but ‘regular’, and any person who disagrees is just naive.

Every time the Ashes comes around, cricket fans go gaga, they empty their schedules for the day (or days) to sit and watch the matches. It’s a major ritual for the die-hard cricket fan.

The fiercest of rivals battling it out for five gruesome days. Can it get any better?

Along with Ashes comes attached a few irreplaceable rituals. One of those rituals is the unveiling of a new ‘hero’, a ‘hero’ to carry the whole future of the nation on their shoulders once the current legends retire. In the recent past, for England it was Kevin Pietersen when he made his Ashes debut, and for Australia it was Michael Clarke.

We’ve recently added the whole ‘Ashes’s Legends’ series. It was a testimonial of sorts, to commemorate legends, legends who have graced this wonderful game, and have achieved so much success that we call them legends today. We have many, many players of this modern era who could be added to that series in a few years time.

One man, though not obvious, who could be added to that coveted series, is undoubtedly Ian Ronald Bell. I’m almost sure most of you reading this piece didn’t know his middle name was Ronald, unless you checked his Wikipedia page, and honestly I didn’t. Such is the obscurity of the man.

Ian Bell is often forgotten, or left behind in the shadow of his more ‘illustrious’ colleagues (read Cook, Trott, Pietersen). His contributions often come when England were in a comfortable position in the match. He is just so easy to watch that when he bats with someone like Pietersen, he gets sidelined, like his contributions didn’t represent something meaningful.

However, in the present Ashes series, he is the one raking in the runs, making the useful contributions, and more importantly pulling the team out of dire situations – all while remaining in his comfort zone – away from the limelight.

Pundits would say he has come of age now, not giving his wicket away after making a start, that he isn’t making centuries when other batsmen have already made centuries. I for one, have always found Bell to be one heck of a batsman! Whether he makes a century or not. He is just so easy to watch- creamy cover drives, supremely-timed late cuts and preposterous pulls – he has them all.

I have always thought he could torment sides as much as Pietersen or Cook. For proof, catch me when I’m watching India play England, especially when Bell is batting. I always hope that he would get out cheap, or else watch my tortured soul witness him torment our poor bowlers with a stick.

Jokes aside, let’s look at his contributions for England in the Test arena. He has scored 19 Test centuries so far for England over the course of his career, and whenever he has scored a century, its either been a victory or a draw, 12 wins and six draws to be exact.

The outcome of the ongoing Lords Test too might tilt towards England after Bell’s brilliance. His tTst career on the whole is brilliant as well. He averages 45.81, which is pretty good for a player who has played over 80 tests. He has scored 6002 runs with 19 hundreds and 36 fifties.