Ian Bell is the unlikely man behind Moeen Ali's success with the ball

Ian Bell (L) celebrates his century at Rose Bowl as Moeen Ali applauds

In an interesting turn of events, it has surfaced that England batsman Ian Bell is the reason behind Moeen Ali’s success as an off-spinner. It is learnt that Bell, being the better player of spin in the England batting order has spent time with Moeen before the Rose Bowl Test, assisting him with his knowledge.

The bearded Ali, surprised everyone with his performance of 6/64 against India, including prizing out more established batsmen like Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli. Speaking on the improvement in his teammate’s bowling, the 32-year-old said that he clarified Ali to bowl according to the match situation.

Different bowler in the nets and in a match

“Having watched him bowl in the first Test, and having faced him in the nets, it felt like he was bowling in the Test as he was in the nets. The important thing for me was trying to get him clear on what his role was at different times in the game,” revealed Bell.

The right-hander also stated that according to his observations, the 25-year-old is an aggressive option with the ball.

“Swanny (Graeme Swann) was brilliant at having two game plans: hold up an end for the seamers when conditions aren’t in your favour, then bowl aggressively when they are. Moeen is naturally aggressive: he gets spin on the ball and good shape.

“He’s got his pace up a little bit to 55mph, from 51 when he started. But on the Hawk-Eye data he’s also getting more drop and drift. The important thing for me is not pace but energy. When Swanny bowled, his arm speed was full of energy, so the ball drops. With dismissals like when Moeen nicked off Pujara and Kohli — world-class players of spin — the ball deceived them on length. He wants to learn and he’s not far away,” said Bell.

Net session with Graham Gooch helped Bell to his century

The Warwickshire-lad credited England’s former great and recently sacked batting coach Graham Gooch for his change of fortunes. The senior most batsman in the England batting line-up smashed 167 in the last match – his first Test century since scoring 113 at Chester-le-Street against Australia in the home Ashes in 2013. Bell’s ton in England’s first innings at Southampton paved way for the home side to get back on level terms with India at 1-1 in the five-match series.

“He does one-on-one net sessions really well. He never goes through the motions. He puts you under the pump, which is where you are in a Test match. He never gets over-complicated or technical. It’s about making sure you’re in the right frame of mind,” said Bell on Gooch, who was removed from the England setup on Alastair Cook’s suggestion.

“As Goochy always says, you should always be looking to score runs, not just to survive. It’s nice to refresh that from time to time. Generally we’re always exchanging text messages. And if he’s available I try to make the most of him for a couple of hours. If I get the chance I’d like to keep doing that,” mentioned Bell.

Bell and Gooch worked together on a two-hour personal net session after the Lord’s defeat, which turned out to be fruitful for England.