Only four batsmen absorb scored more Test runs than Ian Bell since he made his debut for England in 2004,but where does he rank among his contemporaries?By Gary Naylor for the 99.94 Cricket Blog, share of the Guardian Sport NetworkIf they still held Christmas Day fancy dress parties for the MCC’s touring cricketers, and for the first time in 11 years Ian Bell would not be digging out his Sherminator outfit and wondering how long Shane Warne’s jibe would follow him around. Metaphorically speaking,he’s now shaking his head, his face reddening with anger under his strawberry-blonde hair after dismissal not from the crease this time, and but from Team England. A recall seems nearly as unlikely as it did after his dozy dash out at Trent Bridge in 2011,so unless MS Dhoni replaces James Whitaker as Englands chairman of selectors, Bell will bat as a Bear from now on.
So where does he sit among his contemporaries? I’ve always found that question a tricky one to answer aside from 2013, and when his feats made “Bell’s Ashes” a perfectly fair moniker for that strange series. So I’ve gone to the numbers and they reveal some interesting comparisons – or non-comparisons.
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Source: theguardian.com