Cricket: Gritty Bell Sets the Foundations in Brave Bid to Cement His Place

Ian Bell has been here before. It was less than a year ago that he was at Lord's, playing against Pakistan and batting at No6 while unsure of his place. It was supposed to be a one-off Test for him then, with the injured Andrew Flintoff scheduled to return for the following match. So Bell stroked a classy 100 not out in the first innings (and 28 in the second to emphasize why his first-innings Test average is 62 compared with 26 in the second) and waited for the axe. It did not come, because Flintoff's ankle gave up on him again. Bell proceeded to score hundreds in both of the following Tests.

So it was with delightful symmetry that Bell scored another unbeaten century, his sixth in Tests, yesterday. But he will again wait on Flintoff after this match. We can assume that Michael Vaughan will be restored at Headingley, replacing Owais Shah, but what if Flintoff, who batted in the nets yesterday against the assistant coach Andy Flower, surprisingly also passes muster? Bell will go. How unfair will that be?

It was something of a surprise when Bell was listed at No6 in the announcement of the team on Thursday. It had been expected that Shah, with only the one previous cap to his name, would fill that position. But, delving deeper, the decision made sense. Shah, Middlesex's No3, has never batted at six. Bell certainly has, as we know.

That said, specialist batsmen at No6 know the score. And it is not always one they like. They know they are performing with a trapdoor lurking below them. It is usually a spot either for green tyros (thus the leaning for Shah here) or once-fine batsmen whose eyes might not be as reliable as they once were. Or it is, as here, occupied by a specialist batsman in an essentially unbalanced side because no comparable replacement can be found to fill the considerable shoes of an outstanding all-rounder.

If this all sounds too deep and meaningful then the initial sorties of Bell's innings yesterday suggested as much. Arriving at 219 for four, with the departure of Alastair Cook, he found the going extremely tough.

Bell is renowned as a slow starter but this was so slow as to be nearly gathering moss. Seventeen balls it took to get off the mark, before he worked Jerome Taylor down to fine leg for two to receive the most ironic of applause. He might even have raised his bat slightly, in mock appreciation. If he did, it did not disturb his impressively calm demeanor because the very next ball was flicked through mid-wicket for four with the elegance and timing we have come to expect from an in-form Bell.

Not that his two county matches so far this season had shown so. They had produced only 27 runs. But he has been practicing assiduously. This much was clear when he strolled over to the nets on Thursday evening. Play was just about to be abandoned at about 7pm because of bad light, but instead of heading for the hotel Bell wanted the extra practice, to hit more balls before retiring for the evening. Watching him it was conspicuously evident how sweetly he was hitting the ball.

And so it was out in the middle yesterday. There was one early straight drive which drew gasps of admiration, and then a cover drive off Taylor which simply could not be bettered for position or execution. He was always strong off his legs and especially adept at the cut behind square as the West Indians again dropped too short, too often.

His fifty came off 82 balls, with eight fours, from a shot over the slips down towards the Pavilion which might easily be classed as fortunate. There was, however, enough of a hint that it was deliberate not to do so.

When Paul Collingwood went Bell was joined by the debutant wicketkeeper, Matt Prior. Bell, in his 24th Test, was suddenly the senior partner, even though he is actually 44 days younger. The two 25-year-olds talked a lot in between balls, Bell guiding his partner through those nervy early moments. There was much punching of gloves, that increasingly prevalent and annoying habit much despised by Australia's Ricky Ponting - "You're just doing your job when you hit a four," he has said.

But if Prior was taking strength from Bell, then it was some strength because, as the pair advanced to a partnership of 100, Prior's was the lion's share, making 72 in comparison with Bell's 25. When they passed 150 together, Prior had made 103, beating Bell to the milestone, his partner only 40.

Not that Bell cared. He was enjoying Prior's audacity - how they embraced in high-five mode when Prior reached his hundred - and had his own hundred to consider, an immediate antidote to a winter of unfulfilled starts in the Ashes series (331 runs at 33.10 with four fifties). The milestone was reached with a delicate tickle to leg for a single off Chris Gayle, having used up 180 balls and hit 11 fours.