Bell reveals a No1 Test goal all of his own
ENGLAND star Ian Bell has revealed his personal ambitions mirror those of his side as he strives to become the world’s No1 Test batsman.
The 29-year-old is set to win his 68th cap on Wednesday as England look to wrap up the series against India at his home ground of Edgbaston.
But despite that wealth of experience, only since a career defining innings in Cape Town the winter before last has he been regarded an automatic choice.
Over the last year Bell has accumulated over 1,000 Test runs at an average of just over 100. That golden run of form has seen him rise to fifth in the ICC world rankings, but he’s not finished there.
“It means a huge amount and it’s a massive goal of mine at some point in my career to become No1 batsman in the world and hopefully I’m getting that step closer,” he said.
“I think this is the best period of my cricket career. At 29 I’ve still got some good years to come. But I think I’ve matured into a decent Test cricketer and I’m hoping there’s a lot more to come from me.
“But I’d like to work my way up the world rankings both with the team and personally, and keep putting in performances like last week that help us win Test matches.”
TOP 4 BATSMEN | ICC TEST RANKINGS
Jacques Kallis: 883 points, 11,947 runs, 57.43 Ave, 40 hundreds, 145 Tests.
Kumar Sangakkara: 838 points, 8,428 Runs, 56.18 Ave, 25 Hundreds, 97 Tests.
Sachin Tendulkar: 831 points, 14,810 Runs, 56.52 Ave, 51 Hundreds, 179 Tests.
Jonathan Trott: 792 points, 1,965 Runs, 57.79 Ave, 6 Hundreds, 23 Tests.
Ian Bell: 776 points, 4,758 Runs, 47.58 Ave, 15 Hundreds, 67 Tests.