Cricket: Bell Keen to Seize Chance

If any good is to come of this tour, the beneficiaries will be the young players on either side presented with an opportunity by the withdrawals and expulsions that preceded it.

The Zimbabwe squad has nothing but youth; the sacking of 15 white players has led to Tatenda Taibu, 21, leading a squad whose average age is just over 20. The England squad averages over 27 because of the over-30s, Darren Gough, Ashley Giles and Michael Vaughan, but at 22 Ian Bell has much to gain.

His accomplished 75 on his one-day international debut on Sunday followed an innings of 70 on his Test bow at the Oval last summer, making him only the fifth Englishman to score half-centuries on his one-day and Test debuts - Marcus Trescothick, Chris Broad, Kim Barnett and Martyn Moxon are the others - and indicating that he is ready to fulfil his rich potential.

It did not always seem certain that he would. After finding himself on the verge of the Test side two seasons ago the Warwickshire batsman wilted under the expectation and suffered a disastrous loss of form.

Despairing of ever recovering the consistency that had marked him out as a teenager, he wintered in Perth last year, refining his attitude as much as his technique in grade cricket with the University of Western Australia.

"I spent a lot of time going round in circles, dealing with technical things when it wasn't technical, it was what was going on in my head. To keep it simple is probably the best thing I can do," he said yesterday. "Going to Australia was great. I had to get away from English cricket, from Warwickshire, from everything, and work on my game."

It worked, and he is now on the verge of the full-strength Test and one-day squads. "This is a big opportunity for me with a few players not here, and I've got an opportunity to show them what I can do, and it was nice to come in, settle down and do OK," he said.

Bell is on stand-by for the Test series in South Africa, but he is more likely to break into the one-day side. Though the resting Trescothick will surely return, the decision to ask Bell to open indicates that the more dashing Vikram Solanki's place is not entirely secure.

"I haven't opened for Warwickshire but I did in all my youth cricket, and it was nice to have a go. Vaughany and Duncan [Fletcher] have specific ideas about what sort of batsman they want in what sort of positions, and I think I fit into that sort of role.

"The way I play and how I've been told to play, I'm the kind of guy who will take time to get in and just play every ball on its merits, and that's all I tried to do yesterday. It's a great opportunity to get in and around the squad, the 14 or 15, and push these guys for places."

"He's very level-headed when he's out at the crease," said Vaughan. "Both times he's had his debut I've been out at the crease with him, and certainly seeing him from 22 yards he's one we're going to see a lot more of in the future. He's breathing down the necks of everyone in the Test squad."

The former Zimbabwe all-rounder Travis Friend will play for Derbyshire next year. Friend, 23, resigned from the Zimbabwe Cricket Union this year and has since been playing grade cricket in Sydney.