Key Takeaways:
Ian Bell played international cricket from 2004-2015, amassing over 13,000 runs across formats for England.
He scored 22 Test centuries, including a career-best 235 against India, and 4 ODI hundreds.
Bell's technical brilliance and consistency made him one of England's finest batters, admired by future generations.
Ian Bell, one of England's most technically gifted batters, enjoyed a stellar international career spanning 11 years. With over 13,000 runs, Bell's legacy is defined by elegance, consistency, and match-winning performances. We will talk about his records below.
Ian Bell played international cricket from 2004-2015 that means 11 years at the top of the game in which he played 118 Test Matches and in those Matches he got 7727 runs at an average of 43.69 with 22 hundreds and 1 Double Hundred to his name. In the 161 ODIs that he played for England he got 5416 runs at an average of 37.87 with 4 hundreds in ODI cricket. He has got more than 13000 international runs for England in his illustrious career. Let’s look at his Top 5 Best Innings for England.
What are Ian Bell's Best Innings?
Ian Bell's best innings for England include his maiden Test century (162* vs Bangladesh in 2005), a career-best 235 against India in 2011, and a remarkable 140 in Durban against South Africa in 2009.
Top 5 best innings of Ian Bell
162* vs Bangladesh (2005)
Bell's maiden Test century was a masterclass in dominance. Scoring 162* off 168 balls with a strike rate of 96.43, he announced his arrival on the international stage.
235 vs India (2011): Ian Bell Highest Test Score
This is the highest test score in the career of Ian Bell and it came against India in 2011 when he was in imperious form and the good Indian bowling attack had no answers to his brilliance. He made 235 runs in 364 balls while hitting 23 fours and 2 sixes which means 104 runs in boundaries. He was striking at 64.56 and his innings was the difference between the 2 teams and India were outplayed in this match as England won by an innings and 8 runs.
199 vs South Africa (2008)
This is the Third innings in this list and this time it came against South Africa at Lord’s which meant he got his name on the honors board. He was unlucky to miss out on a double hundred but what an incredible innings this was. He batted for 336 balls and he hit 20 fours and 1 six in this innings and his strike rate was an impressive 59.23. It was the 199 runs he made that counted and not the 1 run he missed so this performance makes it to my list.
140 vs South Africa (2009)
This is one of his best overseas Innings that he played against a great South Africa bowling attack in 2009 in Durban. He had to show that he could get runs away from home as well and this innings provided him with the perfect opportunity to show that. England were replying to South Africa and Ian Bell came at number 6 and from ball 1 started attacking the attack and in 227 balls he made 140 with the help of 10 fours and 1 six and he was hitting at 61.67. This was the Innings that put England ahead in the match and as a result they won this match by an innings and 98 runs.
126 vs West Indies (2012)
The ODI innings that I have chosen for this list is one of his best ever and it came against West Indies in 2012 when he came out to open batting first and immediately got into attack mode and as a result the bowlers were unable to bowl to their line and lengths. He made 126 from 117 balls and he hit 12 fours and 1 six in this innings and his strike rate was an amazing 107.69. He showed in this innings that he was a good ODI player as well and the world recognised the same. England won this match by 114 runs.
Ian Bell Stats
Format | Test Cricket | ODI |
Matches | 118 | 161 |
Innings | 205 | 157 |
Runs | 7,727 | 5,416 |
Highest Score | 235 | 141 |
Average | 42.7 | 37.9 |
Strike Rate | 49.5 | 77.2 |
100s | 22 | 4 |
50s | 46 | 35 |
Bell’s technical prowess and consistency cement his place among England's cricketing greats.
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