Ian Bell hoping to make Test comeback with the Ashes next year

Ian Bell, the 36-year-old middle-order batsman played his last Test match for England three long years ago against Pakistan in Sharjah but is hoping to resurrect his career in England’s busy upcoming season. He has featured in seven Ashes series, out of which five were won. 22 centuries in 12 years further proves his mettle.

England have a busy calendar again. The World Cup and the Ashes will be played back to back, and both are equally important. However, the challenge will be to see how many players can avoid injuries during the quadrennial event and remain fit for the Ashes. Bell is hoping to make a comeback in the Ashes, at least as a reserve option.

“With the 50-over World Cup and Ashes series in the same calendar year next year, the challenge will be getting the guys through a World Cup and five Tests injury free,” he told Gulf News at the DHL Swing Against Cancer charity golf event at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Thursday.

Bell retired from limited-overs in 2015

England’s leading run-scorer in ODI cricket back then, Bell retired from the limited-overs formats in 2015 but said he wanted to continue in Tests. There was speculation that he will call it time on his Test career as well but soon after retiring from limited-overs, he wrote in one of his columns, “Deep down, I think I probably knew I wasn’t ready to call time on my England Test career.”

This summer, he scored seven centuries for Warwickshire, which is why Bell feels he might as well hope for an international return in the Ashes, “If there is another little chapter to come then great, if not I’ll keep going and keep enjoying it, you’re a long time retired so I don’t want to give up the game too early, I want to play as long as I can, and the body is good.

“If you had asked me that last year, I was nearly done with international cricket and very close to hanging up my boots and moving on, but I had the whole winter off and just came into the season really fresh, excited and it just seemed to click back into gear again,” he added.

Bell has played 118 Tests for England, from which he has 7,727 runs at an average of 42.69.

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