Ian Bell gets past the 20,000-runs mark in First-Class Cricket

What's the story?

England right-handed batsman Ian Bell is continuing his good stint at the county championships of 2018, where he has recorded an average of above 60+ till date. In the most recent game, he also completed the 20000-run mark in first-class cricket – a very stellar achievement.

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The England-India test series is going on at England, and Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings have been featuring as openers for the side in all the games. However, the duo has not been able to perform to expectations, Cook having taken 97 runs from 6 innings so far and Jennings with 94 runs from the same number of chances.

Joe Root did well in the first innings of the first Test, almost reaching a hundred, but it all went downhill for him as well, from there. With the exception of the second Test, the England top-order has looked lost more often than not, with fans from all over the country demanding the selection of players like Ian Bell or Rory Burns, as replacements.

Meanwhile, Both Bell and Burns have had a spectacular county season so far, sending strong messages to the national selectors.

The details

Once England's faithful choice in the middle-order, Bell fell out of favour with the squad in around late 2015, by virtue of a string of poor performances – both in the domestic and international level.

He has since not featured in the English colours across any format. In a recent interview, he even admitted that the failure made him speculate on retirement. But apparently, a break from the game in the off-season seems to have worked in his favour, as he has since returned with renewed vigour, which has reflected on his performance as well.

Bell has scored 788 runs and counting, in the current season of the County Championships Division 2, including four centuries. He achieved the 20000-run feat while batting against Glamorgan for his side Warwickshire. Amazingly, Glamorgan has not been able to dismiss Bell in their encounters in the ongoing season, with him having scored unbeaten hundreds in both innings the previous time they met at Edgbaston a few weeks ago.

It is safe to assume that the player continues to harbour hopes of getting back into the national side. Earlier this month, he had said to the media that he was “open to an international return”, also promising to continue playing for as long as he could maintain his game.

What's next

India has got the hosts into a stranglehold at 179/8, in the first innings of the ongoing fourth Test. They were looking pathetic at 86/6, after which Sam Curran and Moeen Ali joined hands to stitch a crucial 81-run stand, saving the side's face.

Meanwhile, Bell is unbeaten on 43 at stumps, Day 1 in the County Division 2 game between Glamorgan and Warwickshire. Bell's Warwickshire is at 116/3 in reply to Glamorgan's first innings' score of 203 all-out.