Ian Bell’s top 3 performances in ODI Cricket

There have been a lot of brilliant batters in the England team that have impressed everyone in the game. Though the likes of Joe Root, Alistair Cook and Kevin Pietersen are regarded as one of the most iconic players for England, there have been some underrated performers as well. These players have been giving great performances in their entire career for the country even if they were not regarded as one of the popular players in cricket history.

England’s former top order batter Ian Bell was one of those players, who was known for his stylish drives and big innings. Bell was comfortably one of the top performers for the England side in both ODI and Test matches. There is no doubt that Bell was one of the best Test players for his side, but we can still not ignore some of the iconic innings he has played in One-Days as well. Bell has had a promising career in ODI’s scoring 5416 runs in his 161 matches at an average of 37.87. He has also scored 35 fifties and 4 hundreds in the white ball format. 

Let us take a look at some of the most iconic ODI innings Bell has played in One-day internationals:

3. 126 vs West Indies 2012

This was Ian Bell in his most rare persona in ODI cricket. Ian Bell was still playing some of his iconic and classic drives, but he also scored his runs quickly. After an early exit of skipper Alistair Cook, Bell chose to take over the England innings in the middle. Bell took the England innings to a competitive total of 288 with his innings of 126 from just 117 deliveries which included 12 fours and a six. This was enough to ensure that bowlers had enough to work with and the England team went on to win the game by 114 runs.

2. 126 vs India 2007

This was Bell early into his career in international cricket and he was up against a competitive Indian side at Southampton. With a quality pace attack in RP Singh, Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar it was an exceptional innings by Bell. Even though Cook scored a century as well, it was Bell’s innings of 126 off 118 deliveries that stole the show on the day.  Bell finished unbeaten in an innings which consisted of 10 fours and a six. This was enough to get them to a decent total of 288 in the first innings. This was also one of the early days when the Indians faced the wrath of this beautiful batter.

1. 141 vs Australia 2015

This was Ian Bell in his last series in international cricket and what could have been better than getting to his highest score in ODI’s against the arch-rivals in the series down under. Bell was also up against a lethal Aussie batting attack in this match at Hobart. Bell completely dominated the Aussies with his elegant shots scoring 141 in just 125 deliveries hitting 15 fours and a six. This was his best ODI innings where he showed everyone that there is no need for big and flashy shots to score runs in white-ball cricket. This was a heartbreaking loss for the England team in a high-scoring encounter, but it was also the game where Bell played one of his most iconic innings before retiring.

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