Ian Bell’s top 3 performances in Test Cricket

One of the raging questions among today’s cricket fans is who has the better cover drive between Virat Kohli and Babar Azam. But when cricket fans are divided between the two modern greats, for some purists of the game it is Ian Bell who had the best cover drive in cricket. 

Ian Bell is one of the most stylish batters of his generation. Born on 11th April 1982 in Warwickshire, the classic English batter featured in 118 Tests and 169 ODIs for England. Ian Bell might not have achieved what was expected of him during his teens but still, he is one of the finest batters produced by England, who contributed significantly to England at the international level. 

In his 118 Tests career, Bell amassed 7,727 runs at a decent average of 42.69. He also had 22 centuries and 46 half-centuries to his name and only Sir Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen are the two English batters who have more centuries for England at the international level.

In this article, we will highlight the top 3 performances of Ian Bell in Tests which are a testament to his batting prowess at the international level: 

3) 113 vs Australia – Chester-Le-Street 2013  

Ian Bell was one of the most technically solid batters in the England line-up which is why he often emerged successful when others around him failed. One such instance was his valiant century against in the 4th Test of the 2013 Ashes series at Chester-Le-Street.  

Ian Bell hit three tons in the series, but the best out of them was the one in the 4th Test.

England were reeling at 49/3 in their 2nd innings of the Test after trailing by 32 runs in the 1st innings when Bell came into bat. He powered the England innings with his valiant knock of 113 runs under difficult circumstances that allowed England to reach 330 in the 2nd innings from 49/3. England went on to win the Test by 74 runs and Bell’s ton played a pivotal role in the victory. 

2) 199 vs South Africa – Lords 2008 

It was among the classiest, yet unfortunate knocks played by Ian Bell which is why it is at the 2nd spot in our list of all-time Test innings. Ian Bell was at his absolute best against the potent South African attack and played some mesmerizing shots to get to his ton.  

As they say in cricket when you hit a century you must double it up and Bell was well on course to achieve that feat but unfortunately his masterful innings came to an end when he stepped out on a ball from off-spinner Paul Harris and ended up giving a simple return catch to him. But still, it was one of the top knocks played by Bell in his career as the match ended in a draw. 

1) 235 vs India – Oval 2011 

It was one of the scariest innings for Indian fans but for Ian Bell, it was the stuff of dreams. Ian Bell played the best Test knock of his career against India in the fourth and final Test of the series at the Oval. Ian Bell scored his first and only double century of his career and ended with his highest test score of 235 when he departed in the 1st innings of the Test. 

Ian Bell’s masterclass steered England to a mammoth 1st innings total of 591 runs with the help of a marathon 350-run partnership with Kevin Pietersen. Indian couldn’t even surpass England’s 1st innings score and got all-out twice losing the match by an innings and 8 runs. Ian Bell was awarded with the ‘Player of the Match’ for his career-best innings.