IAN BELL: ENGLAND PLAYERS NEED TO BE TRUSTED

"We’re talking about a team of grown men"

Ian Bell says England's players need to be trusted in the wake of the Jonny Bairstow 'headbutt' incident.

Bell - who played in seven Ashes series, winning five and scoring 1,983 runs at 35.41 - also thinks England are missing Ben Stokes and Mark Wood.

We’re talking about a team of grown men

I can’t believe that the England players have been grounded over the Bairstow incident. We’re talking about a team of grown men, some are in their mid-thirties, some have kids, some have played more than a hundred tests.

I hope it isn’t true. From speaking to players in the team, they made up their own rules at the start of the tour – that should’ve been enough. The fact that management have then done this doesn’t make sense.
The players should be trusted. They have set their own curfews. What if your family’s out there – can you now not go and see them?

It seems like an overreaction to me. The ECB have been playing down the Bairstow story, saying it had no legs, but then go and do this. It’s a very, very strange decision.

England wasted chances

The way England lost the first Test was really disappointing – to have the chances to win and waste them. The players and supporters would probably have been less frustrated had we been absolutely annihilated.

The big frustration is that we were in the game for three days, and had opportunities with both the bat and the ball to win or draw the Test Match, and wasted them.

In England’s first innings, the platform was set. Mark Stoneman and James Vince put us in a really good position, but we had to get 400 runs. In this kind of series, you have to do that, otherwise you’re putting the game back in the balance.

Obviously, the England batting line-up just crumbled instead, and let a real chance pass them by. They just weren’t aggressive enough, particularly to Nathan Lyon. They let too many balls go.

Before the new ball, between 60 and 80 overs, England had to be more proactive. Instead, we didn’t put Australia under any real pressure, and they just knocked our back end over.

If Ben Stokes was coming in at five or six, he would’ve taken them on – he would’ve been aggressive against the old ball, particularly Lyon, and England could have done something.

With someone like that in the team, I don’t think England would’ve lost that first Test. We would’ve had at least an extra 30 runs from that period.

We needed Stokes out there. With both the bat and the ball. In the two major areas that need work, he’d make them better. If he was in the team, we’d be so much stronger.

They also missed Mark Wood. There’s no doubt, if he was fully fit, he should be in the team – his extra pace would be really valuable in the middle period when the ball stops doing anything. Because, currently, we don’t look like we’re going to get a wicket there.

Pressure building on Cook

Alastair Cook is the most mentally resilient cricketer I’ve ever played with. It’s what makes him so good.  I’ve no doubt that, of all the England players, he’s the one you can trust to score runs in Adelaide.

But, if he doesn’t, the pressure is going to build on him. He hasn’t the set the world alight on this tour, including the warm-up games, and people are already asking questions.

He’ll be desperate to make an impact – when you look at Steve Smith’s match-winning innings, and how it turned the Test, that’s the kind of thing Cookie can do. Which is why his form is a concern – he’s so important to us.

The Australians will be desperate to get him out early again in the second Test, and ramp up the pressure on him. They’ll target Cook and keep on at him.

Adelaide is a must-win game

If England don’t win the second Test, then we’re really up against it. Going to the Waca and Perth, the Aussies’ two favourite places, at 2-0 down would be incredibly difficult. So Adelaide is a must-win game.

But I think it’s a huge opportunity. The day-night Test levels it all up completely. If we can bowl in the twilight period and get some movement, it’ll give England a real chance.

It’s definitely out best chance to win a Test in this series. As long as we start taking the Aussies on and actually throwing punches.

This England team have bounced back from poor performances and results before, and they really need to this time – else there’ll be big changes.

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