Making_Splinters wrote:Bell's problem seems to be he tries to impose himself more than he should. Too often has he thrown away starts with an injudicious looking to attack of late.
I think this is down to a misguided belief in what it means to "dominate" an attack. Technically, not always the best players have brilliant techniques but a ruthless streak. Bell doesnt have that in my belief. Not many modern players do coming through either. They are coached in limited overs formats to think that the Tora!Tora!Tora! approach is the way to go, to beat bowlers.
On the points about Cowdrey and not making the best of your ability, I dont really agree with that. Mentality is a skill, and if you dont have that level of self belief or that ability to really grind out results consistently, that that in itself is lacking the required ability to be at the very top level.
I guess there are two very different batsman that come to mind that illustrate the point. The first is Sehwag, a player who averaged as well as many openers in the history of the game. Technically not great, but he backed himself 100% to take players on and was unrelenting. If he got in, he broke bowling attacks on pressure. The other is Steve Waugh, a man of very little pretty technical ability, but the type of guy who you knew everytime he came out, his mission was to bat for 2 days, and you had to really try to get him out.
I have absolutely no doubt that Bells career would have been better had he never played ODI cricket. HE wasnt a one day player, not for me, but in trying to shape into a ODI player he has lost that ability to occupy the crease, and learnt bad habits. His default to being under pressure is to play and force the issue more than he used to. Then again, that is what he was told in his ODI career to do and where to improve, and he did improve as an ODI player as time went on.
Bell has a good range of strokes and the technique to back it up, but I think he has lost his way on how to implement that in the test game.