Bell satisfied with England's performance by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:	IR Bell
Event:	Australia in British Isles 2009

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DateLine: 21st August 2009

 

England batsman Ian Bell feels that the Ashes decider is perfectly poised despite a first day which saw England's batsmen slump to 307-8 after a promising start. Bell (72) and captain Andrew Strauss (55) both hit half-centuries, and there was an encouraging 41 from debutant Jonathan Trott.

 

Peter Siddle played havoc on England's plan as he finished with 4-63 to prevent the home team from making a huge first innings total.

 

Bell believes the pitch bears little resemblance to most at The Oval, with less predictable pace and more spin already giving the batsmen headaches.

 

He therefore senses that England's eventual total may well be a good one.

 

"After day one, it's pretty much 50-50," said Bell, who was promoted to number three in the order following England's innings defeat at Headingley.

 

"I guess with the starts we've had we could have been in a slightly better position," he admitted.

 

"But it was quite a hard day. It didn't feel quite like your usual Oval pitch - where you get a little bit more pace and bounce.

 

"It felt quite slow and quite frustrating at times to time the ball.

 

"Sometimes when you get in it's just a lovely place to bat. But it wasn't quite like that."

 

Bell is hopeful that having to bat last on such a wicket may prove too much for the tourists.

 

"With the spin we've seen on day one - quite unusual for here - we are quite happy we've got 300 on the board," he said.

 

"We don't quite know what a good score is here in the first innings - and until Australia have batted, I don't think we'll know either way."