Alastair Cook urges Ian Bell not to retire from Tests

Will someone please point Cook to the forum and my musings on Ian Bell . Enough is enough!

On a serious note, England can't afford to keep carrying so many under-performing batsman. It is really limiting their consistency, while putting an adverse amount of pressure on their bowlers to keep them in the game.

Going forward, England's batting is a real concern. Over the last 2 years, they have averaged just 32.33 as a team. Of the 10 Test teams, only West Indies (27.61) and Zimbabwe (24.05) are worse. New Zealand (40.56) and Pakistan (40.07) both average 40+.

England really only have two world class batsman (Root and Cook), the rest have been incredibly poor. Just digging through the numbers, over the last two years, of the 28 players to don an England shirt, Root (63.54), Ballance (47.76), Cook (40.23) and Buttler (35.05) are the only ones with an average above 35. Stokes has an average of 31.57 and Mooen Ali 31.20, all the rest are under 30 - including the likes of Bell, Pietersen, Carberry, Bairstow, Lyth and Trott.

The selectors job this winter is to find a new opening partner for Cook (likely Alex Hales), a new number three (or perhaps a return to the team for Gary Ballance) and determine whether Jonny Bairstow is the answer to batting fifth.

Call 1 800 west indies for a series : and Ian Bell may just get his groove back ... :-[

He averaged just 31 against them earlier in the year. He is toast. Done. Finished. Finito.

Bell has just won his fifth Ashes series, a feat that should secure his legend, yet his fate is as unknowable now as it ever was. In an era when England have gone from unsurpassable highs to unfathomable lows, the only baggage Bell has accumulated is 7,569 Test runs, two kids and a bit of a beard. He remains a curiously oxymoronic presence in the middle order, as pleasant and infuriating to watch as ever; the primary source of and primary solution to all our batting worries, English cricket’s call‑waiting music for more than a decade.

Tricky situation. England can't do without an experienced batsman in the wake of Strauss, Trott and Pietersen leaving the side,There aren't a lot of Test batsmen of quality around, and no-one in England with his experience of Test match cricket in varied conditions around the world, apart from Cook himself but one major con is he hasn't been able to buy a good run for ages.

I mentioned it before, but what good is experience if you are sat back in the shed after 10-minutes at the crease. There are enough alternatives available to drop Bell. Averaging less than 30 over the last 2 years is a major problem when combined with the woes England have with their opening pair. You can't keep being 2 down for nowt on the board.

Well he already retired from odi cricket and I don't see him having a future in international odi tournaments so playing English county cricket and test is all he has left now.

Its like starting up with a liability.
Leave the case of Bell.England really need someone at top with cook.

There were talks surfacing that Mooen Ali is interested to open.Of course he has never opened,not even in first class,but can he make a difference ?

Lower down he is often treated only like a pinch hitter,maybe he can revive his fortunes at the top.

Wanting to play Test cricket and still being good enough to actually play at the highest level are two different things. Do you think he is good enough to still play Test cricket?

For a point of reference, over the last 2 years there have been 49 top order batsman (1-6) that have played at least 10 Test matches; Ian Bell ranks 46th with an average of 29.24. The only 3 batsman with a lower average are Petersen, Rutherford and Thirimanne.

Bell has 16 scores of 10 or less over this period - more than any other batsman. Michael Clarke is second on the list with 12 (and he just retired in part due to his own run of poor form over the last 2 years). Scoring less than 10 in 41% of your innings is shockingly poor for a top order batsman.

To further put his ineffeciency into perspertive, the likes of Craig, Holder, Eranga, Philander, Ashwin and Jadeja (all recognised frontline bowlers) have higher averages over the last 2 years.

One final stat of note, Bell has bettered his current career Test average of 43.00 in just 2 of his last 14 series. And lets also not forget that the last time Ian Bell played in the UAE, he averaged 8.50.