Former England ace Ian Bell notches 20,000 first-class runs

The Warwickshire batsman said earlier this month that he was open to an international return and vowed to continue playing “for as long as I possibly can”.

England’s top-order has struggled against India in the five-match Test series, with Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings continuing their disappointing run on the morning of the first day of the fourth Test.

Joe Root is also struggling at No.3, so could England consider recalling a 36-year-old former hero to steady the ship? Bell’s stellar campaign has proved that he still has a lot to give.

The middle-order batsman endured a poor 2017 county cricket season with the bat and admitted that he considered walking away from the game. A complete break from cricket during the off-season has appeared to work wonders.

At the time of writing, Bell is batting for Warwickshire against Glamorgan and has 788 County Championship Division Two runs and counting in 2018, with an average upwards of 60.

Bell has played 118 matches for England, scoring 7,727 runs at 42.69. His last Test outing was against Pakistan in Sharjah in November 2015, and he is eighth on the list of England’s all-time leading run-scorers.