Bell Waits on England Phone Call

At some point this weekend Ian Bell will receive a telephone call from David Graveney. If the chairman of selectors is the bearer of bad tidings, then the Warwickshire batsman can consider himself a mightily unfortunate young man. For the 23-year-old could have done no more in stating his case for inclusion in the first Test against Bangladesh beginning on May 26. "I'm in good form, have scored plenty of runs and have given myself the best possible chance to be picked," Bell says.

But Bell is used to rejection. His classy maiden Test innings of 70 at The Oval last summer, on the back of 1,498 championship runs, seemed to have secured a tour place, but Paul Collingwood's versatility and reputation as a good tourist meant he was surprisingly granted the spare berth.

Not that the amiable Bell would not have made a good tourist, but it was felt that his time might be better spent elsewhere, rather than being the glorified drinks waiter that Collingwood became. So, undeterred, Bell mixed his winter between stints at the National Academy at Loughborough, eight one-day internationals in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and captaining England A in the United Arab Emirates and Sri Lanka - all done with unfussy diligence and an increasing maturity.

He does not fret like he used to about England selection; his focus so diverted in 2002, when it was said he was actually selected for the first Test against Sri Lanka before cold feet afflicted the selectors, that it took a winter at the University of Western Australia in 2003-04 for him to straighten himself out.

"I used to worry about it," he says, "but am more relaxed now. Of course, it's not that I don't want to play for England - I desperately do - but whether it happens now or later in the summer, I'll just keep on enjoying myself and trying to score as many runs as I can."

Bell knew that he needed to start this season with a bang if he was to force his way into the Test side, because Robert Key was in possession of the batting place left by Mark Butcher's unfortunate wrist injury in South Africa. So his record-breaking 480 first-class runs in April (including 231 against Middlesex) raised the decibel levels pretty high through the shires and, because of Butcher's tardy recovery, it would appear that the din has also reached the selectorial caverns, notwithstanding a more modestly productive match in Hove this week. For there is a growing school of thought which insists that Bell will be the recipient of good news this weekend, whether or not Graham Thorpe's dodgy back passes muster, and despite Key's recent comments, which seem to suggest that he knows something we do not.

Where will Bell bat, though? There are many permutations. He made his debut at No5, the rightful position for a tyro, but Thorpe, now less sharp of eye and feet, has looked comfortable there away from the newer ball. And if Kevin Pietersen were to play, his large back-and-across movement would necessitate similar shielding.

Thankfully the skipper Michael Vaughan has gone on record to say that he is not averse to the notion of moving up a place to No3, although that would seem to negate the original reasons for his drop to four from opening - in other words, a break after the wearying worries of captaincy in the field. The mental prepara tions for batting at No3 are actually no different from those of opening, and that is where Vaughan enjoyed his career- altering success in the last Ashes series, but breaking up the Marcus Trescothick/ Andrew Strauss axis at the top does not appear to be an option at present. So No4 it might be for Bell.

Naturally, when asked, Bell replies that he is willing to bat anywhere for his country, but he does mention that he began his Warwickshire career at five or six; maybe disguising a recognition that three in Test cricket is a tall order that can wait. But he bats at three for Warwickshire now - four in one-day cricket at the suggestion of the England coach Duncan Fletcher - and thrives on the responsibility.

His county coach, John Inverarity, is not one to cluck over his charges but it is interesting to digest his thoughts on Bell in his foreword to Brian Halford's celebratory tome of Warwickshire's 2004 championship triumph The Year of the Bear. "For a cricket team to play well and gain momentum - and win matches - then individual players need to perform. They need to shape a game or alter its course. This is what Ian Bell did."

Having done that on debut, two Tests against Bangladesh should provide Bell with ample opportunity to re-acquaint himself with doing that at Test level, before we discover whether he can do that against the very best.