The best performances articles are back and this time we will be talking about a batter who is one of the most technically correct batters of his time and someone who performed so well for England for a number of years in international cricket. We are talking about Ian Bell who has been one of those batters that the future generations of test and ODI batters look upto and they try to be as technically correct as him. We will talk about his records below.
Ian Bell played international cricket from 2004-2015 that means 11 years at the top of the game in which he played 118 Test Matches and in those Matches he got 7727 runs at an average of 43.69 with 22 hundreds and 1 Double Hundred to his name. In the 161 ODIs that he played for England he got 5416 runs at an average of 37.87 with 4 hundreds in ODI cricket. He has got more than 13000 international runs for England in his illustrious career. Let’s look at his Top 5 Best Performances for England.
162* vs Bangladesh (2005)
This was the first test hundred in the career of Ian Bell and this was a statement hundred that he is here and will rule for many years in international cricket. This was a brutal test Innings and he made 162* from just 168 balls and in this innings he hit 25 fours and 1 six meaning a total of 106 runs in boundaries. His strike rate was an outstanding 96.43 which is a lot in test cricket. He told the world that he is here to stay and all the teams should take him seriously.
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235 vs India (2011)
This is the highest test score in the career of Ian Bell and it came against India in 2011 when he was in imperious form and the good Indian bowling attack had no answers to his brilliance. He made 235 runs in 364 balls while hitting 23 fours and 2 sixes which means 104 runs in boundaries. He was striking at 64.56 and his innings was the difference between the 2 teams and India were outplayed in this match as England won by an innings and 8 runs.
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199 vs South Africa (2008)
This is the Third innings in this list and this time it came against South Africa at Lord’s which meant he got his name on the honors board. He was unlucky to miss out on a double hundred but what an incredible innings this was. He batted for 336 balls and he hit 20 fours and 1 six in this innings and his strike rate was an impressive 59.23. It was the 199 runs he made that counted and not the 1 run he missed so this performance makes it to my list.
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140 vs South Africa (2009)
This is one of his best overseas Innings that he played against a great South Africa bowling attack in 2009 in Durban. He had to show that he could get runs away from home as well and this innings provided him with the perfect opportunity to show that. England were replying to South Africa and Ian Bell came at number 6 and from ball 1 started attacking the attack and in 227 balls he made 140 with the help of 10 fours and 1 six and he was hitting at 61.67. This was the Innings that put England ahead in the match and as a result they won this match by an innings and 98 runs.
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126 vs West Indies (2012)
The ODI innings that I have chosen for this list is one of his best ever and it came against West Indies in 2012 when he came out to open batting first and immediately got into attack mode and as a result the bowlers were unable to bowl to their line and lengths. He made 126 from 117 balls and he hit 12 fours and 1 six in this innings and his strike rate was an amazing 107.69. He showed in this innings that he was a good ODI player as well and the world recognised the same. England won this match by 114 runs.
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