Big-game Bell ready to make his mark

Mike Hussey has had the consistency, Alastair Cook has shown incredible endurance, but arguably the classiest batsman of the Ashes to date is a man whose appearances have been all too brief for England's purposes. In two of the most pressurised situations of the series to date - during England's first-innings collapses at Brisbane and Perth - Ian Bell belied his reputation for soft runs with two of the most composed half-centuries of his career. In both cases he might well have reached a century had it not been for the wickets tumbling at the other end.

The clamour since Australia squared the series at Perth has been for Bell to move back up the order from his berth at No. 6. With scores of 76, 68 not out and 53 in his first three innings of the series, he showcased not only an appetite for runs that has always been a feature of his game, but a new hardened approach to the mental aspect of cricket. Since being exposed by Shane Warne as a rookie in the 2005 series, Bell has improved his average in each of his four campaigns against Australia, and has now made 11 fifties in 16 appearances. The elusive breakthrough hundred seems only a matter of time.

"I'm desperate for an Ashes hundred, but I'm hoping the way I'm playing, there's one round the corner," said Bell. "I'm really happy with the way I'm playing out here. My performances are becoming better under pressure, and playing against Australia I'm becoming the type of cricketer that people saw in me in my early ages. I'm happy with the way I'm playing but I want an Ashes hundred, and a few of them to be honest. It's something I'm excited about, but I want to keep improving as a player."

Whether he gets his chance at Melbourne, however, could depend on whether the England management see fit to reward his fluent form with a promotion. To date, it is a prospect that Bell claims has not been raised by the management, and with the team set to return to training on Christmas Eve after a four-day break, Andrew Strauss implied that they would retain the order that has served them well in the past year, with Paul Collingwood backed to come good in his usual position at No. 5.

"I'm not going to 100% rule it out but I'd be surprised if we went down that route," said Strauss. "Belly has been a very reassuring presence at No. 6 and there may come a time in the future where he can go up the order. But now is not the time for massive changes. It is the time to go back to what has worked very well for us on this tour and Belly has been a fine example of a No6 batsman coming in and taking the game away from the opposition.

"He's in very good form and I can appreciate why people are clamouring for him to go up the order but I'm very happy with what he is doing down there. The main problem is that he has been left with the tail because there haven't been batsmen alongside him building big partnerships and that is our job."

"I've had no discussions about [No. 5] at all," said Bell. "It's always nice to get moved up the order, but whether that happens or not is irrelevant for this series. It's nice to be contributing to the team, but to me, whether I move up the order doesn't really matter, as long as we are winning the next two Test matches. That's the biggest and most important thing to me, winning the Ashes."

One man who believes Bell must be given the chance to show his full worth is the former England opener, Geoff Boycott, who told ESPNcricinfo that it was now or never. "There comes a point in everybody's life when you either learn from your mistakes or you go backwards," said Boycott. "And it might be that Bell is at a point where he's matured, and this is the time for him to move forward. When a player who is playing well is ready to make a mark in the series, you can't afford to hold him back. In my opinion technically he's the best player in the team. Front foot, back foot, his timing is exquisite. It's now what's between his ears."

Bell himself recognises the strides he has made on this tour, particularly in convincing a sceptical Australian public of his worth, but he knows it's just the beginning if he wants to complete his transition and become a top-quality international cricketer. "I don't want to stop," he said. "I think I've improved a hell of a lot over the last 18 months, but I'm desperate to keep improving, and certainly I'm not happy with where I'm at, I want to keep kicking on.

"It's nice to play some good cricket in an Ashes series, and to contribute to us playing well since we've been over here, and hopefully that can continue this week in Melbourne, because like I said it's an exciting Test match."

The England players have been enjoying a mini-break from the grind of touring life since the early loss in Perth, with several players taking the chance to spend time with their families before returning their focus to the challenge of the Boxing Day Test. "It's been a long tour, so a bit of downtime isn't a bad thing," said Bell. "We had a good meeting after the Test at Perth, and put everything to bed that we needed to. It's the usual thing to be training two days before a Test, so the guys will be refreshed and ready to go. It's a great event, and everyone's excited about being here."

Despite the loss at Perth and the concerns that come with such a setback at such a crucial time of the series, Bell believes that England are still very much in command of their own destiny. "Australia have got some momentum going in, no doubt," he said, "but out of the three Test matches, I'd say we've been playing the better cricket. We're going to have to come out and play well, and take a bit of the momentum back again."