da cassino： When Ian Bell played for England in the Under-19 World Cup in SriLanka he was new to the big league
da esport bet： Anand Vasu07-Jan-2001When Ian Bell played for England in the Under-19 World Cup in SriLanka he was new to the big league. He was looking around very keenly,learning what he could and generally keeping to himself. Had you methim then, you would have described him as a polite but shy young man.Since then he has come a long way. Playing in Warwickshire has donethe young man’s confidence a world of good. As captain of the Englandside that’s touring India, he has to do a lot more than just deliverthe goods out in the middle. Talking exclusively to thiscorrespondent, Bell revealed how he was more mature than ever before,and ready to move on to bigger things.AV: One win and one loss so far on tour. How do you feel?IB: Very well. We’ve been looked after well so far. We feel good as aside, we feel like we’re playing good cricket. Our batsmen have got inand made 30s and 40s, but haven’t gone on to make big hundreds. Wehaven’t got enough runs in the first innings, and have collapsed underpressure in the second innings.AV: Some of the players have been in a bit of trouble playing thespinners, coming down the wicket and getting stumped with the ballturning away. You don’t seem to have that problem. Did playing insimilar conditions in the Under-19 World Cup help on this count?IB: It was a big learning curve in Sri Lanka. Even though the trip wasnot particularly successful for us, we came away with a lot ofexperience. Playing spin bowling is something I’ve done atWarwickshire. That’s something people have helped me with from anearly age. I must have been 12 or 13 when they started us off onspinning mats which really did turn and bounce. That’s probably why Ifeel confident enough to use my feet, either against the left armspinner or the off spinner.AV: We’ve heard the England management say more than once that theresult of this tour is not of utmost importance. It’s the experiencethat counts. As captain I’m sure you’d like to win all the Tests, orat least the series…IB: Yeah, that’s for sure. It’s not easy to come to India and win aseries. It’s definitely a feather in your cap if you can come to Indiaand win a series, not just for the captain but for the whole side. Ifyou can be successful in places like India and Pakistan you’re goingto go back to England with a good record. Then people are going toactually look out for you. That is a great chance for everyone in theside. If you do succeed here, you can get into your county sides andthen there are steps forward.AV: You’ve come down with two left arm spinners. That leaves you withless variety than you would like. Monty Panesar who has been bowlingso well in the nets has looked short of his best out in the middle…IB: Monty has bowled well in the nets and hasn’t quite been at hisbest in the middle. He’s normally a very bubbly character out in themiddle. In the last game he was ill. Perhaps he was a bit dehydratedfrom being in the field so long in the first innings. That was a bitof a shame. When he gets into rhythm he’s a very, very good bowler. Weneed him to get into rhythm pretty soon and when he does, I’m surehe’ll take a lot of wickets.AV: With two left arm spinners in the side you seem to have taken tobowling off spin…IB: That’s right I’m normally a little seam bowler. Back in Englandwhere the conditions help, I do a bit of seam bowling. When I bowledin the nets here, I took a couple of wickets and rolled my arm over inthe match. Luckily one turned and I got a wicket!AV: Your strength will still be your mediumpacers, McGarry seems to bequick and Bishop as well…IB: They are both generally very good seamers. Hopefully they’ll workwell together. Andrew (McGarry) has got a bit of pace and bowlsstraight. He has a good bouncer and has caused a bit of trouble withthat. Justin (Bishop) does swing the ball very late and can get a lotof LBWs if he bowls the right line.AV: When batting in Indian conditions, you have to make runs in quicktime. If you are looking to just survive, then you’re bound to get aball that turns and jumps that surprises you. Will you be looking togo after the bowling?IB: The mental toughness side of it here is very important as well.You are going to get a good ball that turns and bounces. You just haveto take every ball as it comes. If you get one that surprises you,then you just have to forget it and play the next ball. If you bat inthe last innings then the wicket is going to be worn and you’re goingto get a bit of that. We have to combat that with all the things wehave learnt in our drills. We have to sweep the ball well, that’simportant. We have to look to play a long innings. We have to bat allday and get big hundreds. That’s the key for us. If we post totals of350 and more, that’s going to help us to force a win.AV: There’s a lot of emphasis on adapting to Indian conditions,learning to play the spinners on responsive tracks and things likethat. But it’s still very important to play to your strengths…IB: That’s right. We have been working hard on that. How to play spinand sticking to your strengths. If you do hit over the top, well thendo so. If you sweep well, then play that shot. We’ve talked about thatin every situation. After every match and session we’ve learntsomething. We know that we’re going to prove a lot of people wrong,come out and do really well.
