Have to keep believing in ourselves: Bell
First Published : 21 Jan 2013, 18:00
Last Modified : 21 Jan 2013, 18:00
Outplayed by India in the last two matches and trailing 1-2 in the five-match ODI series, the touring England team is hoping to draw level in the pleasant and homelike conditions at Mohali.
After a winning start to the ODI series, the visitors’ batting line-up has been troubled by India’s bowling attack and has only managed 150-odd runs in each of the last two games. While talking to the media ahead of the fourth ODI, at the PCA Stadium, England batsman Ian Bell said, “If you are going to get 150, it’s not going to challenge India at all in these conditions. There is no doubt that we set the tempo in the first one-day international. If we get a platform, our middle order is quite powerful and destructive. So we need to get a foundation for our big hitters in the middle, so they can get us going. And we showed we can do that in the first one-dayer. Maybe we didn’t adapt to the conditions well enough in the last game. It probably was a good toss to win, but we didn’t keep enough wickets in hand to go hard at the end, and that was disappointing.”
Reflecting on their performance so far, he added, “We are a little bit disappointed with the way we have played. Like any game, whether we win or lose, we are going to review them, take the positives and work on areas that we can get better in. There are certain areas [from the] last couple of games that we can improve. Hopefully, in the next couple of days [we can] get an opportunity to put in a performance like we did in the first one-day international and go 2-2 in the series.”
“We went into the first one-day international after losing the two warm-up games and we put in a performance. We have to keep believing that we can win, and we have shown that we can do that but we have to do our basics right. We have to perform and all 11 players have to play well. India are fantastic team; and certainly in these conditions if we don’t perform well as a group, then we are going to get beaten.”
Stressing on the importance of a solid opening stand, Bell added, “It’s important [to have a good opening stand]. We have a batting order that can deal with that; certainly with the new rules with two new balls, if there is a little bit in the wicket, you have to play well. It’s not going to be easy to come out and play massively aggressive shots, [and] both teams have shown that. […] But ideally, we want to get a platform. And one thing we haven’t done well is that we have lost wickets in clusters, which is not going to help, which showed the other night as well again when we lost three wickets in the middle which slowed us completely down.”
While talking about the Indian pacers, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shami Ahmed, who have been causing problems for the Alastair Cook-led side early in the innings, Bell said, “We watched a bit of them in the Pakistan series. […] In the last two games they have made us work really hard.”
Speaking about Ravindra Jadeja, who has struck regularly in the middle overs, Bell stated, “He has been a very good cricketer in the one-day format for a long time now; very consistent with bat and ball. I think he is a very good one-day all-rounder. He has managed to pick up wickets, which is what you are looking to do in that middle period where it’s not doing a great deal. He probably has a golden arm. He managed to pick up wickets, which slowed the batting team down. Certainly in the next game we are going to have to play him a lot better. […] He is a good bowler and we take him very seriously as a frontline spinner.”
On the familiar conditions and weather at Mohali, Bell said, “It’s been nice today, very English really. So, a little bit more familiar than what we had in the last couple of games. Though I don’t think it had too much effect on the way we played in warmer weather. But it’s certainly nice to get out there; and a bit of breeze sure helps everyone.”
Giving an overview of the series so far, Bell said, “We look at it one game at a time. To be honest with you, we went into the first ODI looking to get a platform, get runs on the board, and to bat majority of the overs. We haven’t done that in the last two matches, but if we do that, then we can push India.”
