England’s middle order hero Ian Bell has clearly been the standout player in this Ashes series and has frustrated the Australians to no end.
More often than not, Australia’s clever bowling plans and good execution have skittled the English top three for low scores, inevitably leaving Bell at the crease with either Kevin Pietersen or the combative Jonny Bairstow.
Bell has delivered almost every time England have needed him. Three hundreds and two half-centuries to go with a 25, a six and a four not out speak to that. It’s outrageously good scoring by anyone’s standards.
From an Australian fan’s perspective it’s demoralising every time a determined looking Bell strolls confidently to the crease. Watching him walk, you immediately have that sinking feeling that he’s going to be there for a while, and the early work done by the Aussie quicks is going to be undone, maybe not quickly, but methodically.
The kicker is that the same assurance is never there when Watson, Warner or Khawaja, or any Aussie middle order player walks to the wicket. They are all amazing stroke-makers, but don’t emanate the aura of certainty Bell does.
Bell’s tally of 500 runs at an average of over 70 is 150 above the next best, Aussie skipper Michael Clarke. His average is exactly 22 runs per innings better than Clarke, who is also second in that statistic.
But what I really want to talk about is how he has gone about amassing such imposing figures.
Before I launch into a discussion of his method, I would like to start with some trite comments that those of you in the grandstand might hear about Bell’s batting.
As a grandstander, one will hear things like “Bell’s a very organised player”, “He makes the bowler bowl to him”, “He knows his game very well”, and “He looks so great when he plays his shots, it’s a wonder he doesn’t play them more often!”
What these remarks speak to is one important aspect of Bell’s game: he plays exceptionally straight, almost exclusively.
The same remarks are often said of the South African run colossus Jacques Kallis, who in method is very similar to Bell in an extremely important way.
The only times that Bell strays from the plan of playing straight is when he receives a ball in what you might say is in his ‘scoring zone.’ It is from this facet of his game that the ‘He’s an organised player’ saying derives.
Bell knows which shots he plays best. He selects the ball that he wishes to score off very carefully and plays a shot he’s particularly good at to get his runs.
At everything else, he offers a straight bat or no shot at all.
His wagon wheels from this series betray a heavy emphasis of scoring through cover, to third man and through square leg and midwicket.
Not surprisingly, another area where he scores a lot of runs is straight down the ground.
Bell’s straight drive has featured constantly in the Ashes highlights packages to date. Not only is it a very attractive shot, but Bell plays it so often he gives those cutting the footage plenty to pick from!
Bell’s heavy scoring through cover comes into play when bowlers overpitch to him. He waits patiently for the bad ball then puts it away with a classic cover drive that all cricket fans so adoringly watch, no matter where your allegiances lie. That said, I do wince every time I see it. Go figure.
His scoring in the third man region could be described as his ‘relief’ shot – one that gets him off the strike when a bowler bowls slightly too short outside the off-stump.
The key is he plays it late, and only when he has identified the ball short enough to safely play the shot.
Another factor here is that he generally plays it when the ball is older and unlikely to surprise him through extra bounce or coming onto him faster than expected.
When the ball is short enough, Bell pulls, and when he receives an ill-directed one, he works off his pads, pretty much accounting for all of his scoring on the leg side.
One key difference between Bell and for example, Shane Watson, is that he bats on the leg side and doesn’t walk across his stumps.
This means LBW is far less of a risk, and it also feeds into the key philosophy of his batting plan: if the ball is on the stumps (i.e. straight) then play straight!
Bell stands very still as the ball is bowled and doesn’t plonk his leg in front of the stumps to flick it to the leg-side.
Rather, he waits, and if it’s on the stumps, he plays straight. If the ball is travelling down leg, something his leg stump guard gives him a fairly good chance to assess accurately, he feels safe to work it to the on-side.
The key to his entire plan is the fact that he plays straight at every other ball. He doesn’t try to manufacture shots. “He knows his game very well.”
He leaves anything not in his zone and not on the stumps, and only attacks balls which he feels allow him to play to his strengths. In other words, “He makes the bowler bowl to him.”
The final statement about Bell comes with negative connotations, and is an accusation often levelled at Kallis, “Why doesn’t he play his shots more often?”
Both Bell and Kallis are fantastic stroke-makers. They cover drive wonderfully, and share the pull shot and stroking the ball to leg-side as key scoring shots. But both players also operate deliberately within their means.
Their strike rates might not make for great reading, but when you turn off the cricket out of boredom, only to return half an hour later, you’re very likely to see Bell and Kallis still there, implementing the same plan.
Bell has shown it to be a recipe for success, and is the one all the Aussie batsman could learn from.
Follow Paddy on Twitter @PatrickEffeney
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