News about Ian Bell

LAWRENCE BOOTH: Ever since Ollie Pope was named as Ben Stokes's deputy in March 2023, and measured for the navy blue captain's blazer he might one day be required to wear, the team operations manager Wayne Bentley has guarded it almost like an item of regalia. This morning at 10.30, when Pope walks out as cricketing royalty for the toss in Manchester, he will discover how snugly it fits - both literally and metaphorically. In one sense, England's 82nd Test captain in 147 years has little to gain. Beat Sri Lanka, as his team ought to, and Pope will have done so with the team inherited temporarily while Ben Stokes recovers from hamstring trouble. His insistence that he will do things his way is admirable, but Bazball England know only one method, and Pope is not about to call for a Dunkirk-style retreat. Lose, and Harry Brook - promoted for this series to the vice-captaincy - may become favourite to take over when Stokes eventually calls it quits. The experience Pope gains now, of course, ought to be a useful insurance policy if Stokes's body packs in again between now and the 2025-26 Ashes.

ASK NASSER: After losing by 434 runs to India in the third Test in Rajkot, England was left to lick their wounds. India's elving victory put them 2-1 up in the series of two games to play, but England captain Ben Stokes was unconcerned about their Bazball strategy.

PAUL NEWMAN IN HYDERABAD: At times when it seemed that England's faith in Ollie Pope was going to be unrewarded, and that he was never going to become the next great batsman. Even on the first day of this massive series, Pope was the least likely of the England batsmen to find a way to combat outstanding Indian bowlers in their own environment. Yes, it was Pope's comeback after suffering his second major shoulder injury in his career cut short his Ashes at Lord's last summer.

England has yet to decide whether or not to bring their three reserves to this fall's World Cup championship defense, potentially leaving Harry Brook grounded at home. Brook, a Yorkshire batting player, has been named as one of three replacements in the case of sickness and injury during the seven-week tournament, but extra staff will need to be paid by individual boards. This is not only a cost issue for the ECB, but a matter of logistics, with England playing their group matches in eight separate cities in India but never in the same venue repeatedly.

FRED KELLY: I've never seen scenes remotely resembling those seen on Sunday. There is no precedent in the hostility displayed by a full house at Lord's, not least by MCC members in the Pavilion. Disbelief slowly gave way to howls of anguish and then fierce cries of 'Cheat!' On the 31,000-strong crowd, the gravity of what had just happened dawned. Centuries of decorum gave way to naked fury on Sunday. According to one, the scenes inside the Pavilion reminded of bad behaviour on the football terraces in the 1980s.

Despite winning the opening Ashes Test in dramatic fashion, former England star Ian Bell believes Australia is still scared' of the hosts' ultra-aggressive strategy. The tourists got off to a two-wicket victory in Edgbaston in the series opener on Tuesday, with Pat Cummins' magnificent 44 not out winning as Australia's quest for their first Ashes series victory in England in 22 years getting off to a promising start. The loss was only England's third in 14 Tests after Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as coach and captain last year, and Bell believes the pair was inspired by what they saw.

BUMBLE AT THE TEST: England set the tourists a challenging challenge on the first day of a one-off Test match with Ireland. Ireland returned to the crease after England declared on 524 for four, thanks to England's fastest double-century from Ollie Pope and a 182 for Ben Duckett. Josh Tongue repaid the faith shown in him by Ben Stokes by taking three to leave the Irish on 97 for three, with James McCollum recovering injured.

NASSER HUSSAIN: Let's be honest: There's a huge gap between these two sides, and it's a worry for world cricket, with rich countries getting richer at the expense of everyone else. But you can only play what's in front of you, and England did an excellent job against Ireland on the second day at Lord's, but not so much. They were true to their word once more. There was no point in arguing over a score. They wanted to entertain, and Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope were outstanding in that respect. Don't go for a minute that their morale will not be lifted by scores of 182 and 205, just because they were made against a poor Irish attack. These are field tests, and they're now in the record books for the first time ever. It's the perfect start to the summer.

Try asking Saqib Mahmood to get a sense of how long a year will be like in a professional sport. On Thursday, he travelled for Lancashire against Somerset at Taunton, his first County Championship appearance since the 2022 season began. Forget the extraordinary things that England has achieved in the interim; consider that when fast bowler Mahmood started experiencing pain in his back against Gloucestershire last April, a Test shirt was on his arm, proving to be a rare ray in an otherwise uneven tour of the Caribbean this month.

Exclusive BY AADAM PATEL: After being part of the prestigious 2005 England team, Ian Bell knows better than most about the challenges of batting in Pakistan, which has been dominated by a tumultuous blend of searing speed and fizzing twist. 'I have a vivid memory of a magnificent swinging yorker from Shoaib Akhtar to Ashley Giles, who knocked out middle and leg stumps,' Bell says. 'Even now, when people ask me who is the fastest bowler I have encountered, it's the sequence that comes to mind.' I had never seen or experienced Shoaib's bowling.'

As he continues to develop his coaching career, Graeme Swann will serve as a mentor for the England Lions next week. Swann, a member of the Hundred champions Trent Rockets' backroom staff under Andy Flower last summer, has been hired as a consultant alongside another former multiple Ashes winner, Ian Bell, who will help the batters on the trip. We have two people with so much international experience in Ian Bell and Graeme Swann, it's brilliant to have them as part of the organisation, and I'm looking forward to working with them,' said Mo Bobat, the ECB's performance director.'

STUART BROAD: The mentality with which this England Test team is planning to approach the game ensures that there will be many thrills and a few spills along the way. The spills against South Africa this week were evident. We've got off to a good start in our summer by winning all four Tests against New Zealand and India, but we must remember that we were in situations where we might have lost each of them.