The Ashes: Day 1 - Ian Bell

I previously mentioned that this could be a make-or-break test match for Ian Bell’s career, but I’m not sure what to make of his innings today. 72 is an undoubtedly good score, England’s highest thus far, and if Ramprakash and Key had come in and got that, their supporters would have felt vindicated. However, he struggled early on, again against Johnson, and it’s hard to know how to judge that innings. Was it was indicative of the same old Bell, making runs but struggling by on luck and never really dominating? Or is he showing fighting qualities, working out his problems and making runs against the odds, in the Collingwood mould? Maybe to choose either is reading too much into it, and it’s a bit of both. Maybe it’s just another innings, but it will be interesting to see how he does second time around, and regardless, he deserves some credit for getting a score when the pressure was on.