Ian Bell expresses desire to play for England ahead of the Ashes

Discarded England batsman Ian Bell aspires to add to his tally of 118 Test caps. Preparing for the English Domestic County Season, Ian Bell is raring to go for his county side Warwickshire. The 34-year old last played for England in the UAE against Pakistan, after he was axed following England’s disastrous 0-2 defeat.

Ever since, Bell has been bullish about winning his place back in the England side. He has churned the runs out for Warwickshire, where he is also a captain; and also did well in the BBL, where his 231 runs in 9 innings were instrumental in securing a third BBL title for his franchise Perth Scorchers.

Bell has been an Ashes winner 5 times – a record he shares with Sir Ian Botham and Wilfred Rhodes. The prospect of being the only player to have been a part of 6 Ashes wins attracts Bell a lot.

“You always think about it,” said Bell. “I still have ambitions to play for England. I’ve been lucky enough to win five Ashes, no one has ever won six so there’s always that carrot for me if I was lucky enough to get into that squad.

“There’s no doubt, on an individual level, to be part of a squad which wins six would be something pretty special.

Though an England comeback is a deep burning desire, Bell remains focused and committed to his role at Warwickshire.

“I have that drive to do it, but winning games for Warwickshire and scoring runs is my main aim. If anything comes on top of that then great.

Bell will always be considered a prodigy who couldn’t fulfil his true potential. Although he has scored more than 13,000 international runs for England which includes 7727 test runs, which sounds formidable, but with the talent that he was born with: Bell should have soared to greater heights.

The Ashes is still a long time ahead, so much so that – there is a full 6-month English cricket season which precedes it. This will give Bell an opportunity to stake claim in the English side on the basis of big runs for his country Warwickshire.