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| April 11, 2007 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428 |
Birthday boy Bell thinks of old spirit
BRIDGETOWN, April 10: England batsman Ian Bell wants his team-mates to rediscover the secret of their one-day success in Australia if they are to salvage their stuttering World Cup campaign.
England need to win their three remaining Super Eights matches, starting with Bangladesh here on Wednesday, if they are to have any hope of reaching the semi-finals.
Bell, one of the few England batsmen to make runs in the tournament, insists his team-mates can battle back after successive defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia and has reminded them of how they recovered from a 5-0 Ashes mauling to beat the Aussies to win the CB Series on the eve of the World Cup.
That success, after a dismal start, involved winning four matches on the trot – one against New Zealand and three against the world champions.
“It's a similar situation here to the one in Australia,” said Bell.
“Now we've got to win every game and every game is a final. I think as a team it's good that we can break it down now to what we need to do.”
Bell, who made 77 in the seven-wicket loss to Australia in Antigua on Sunday, celebrates his 25th birthday on Wednesday but knows there is plenty of work to do.
After Bangladesh, who have already defeated India and South Africa so far, England still have to meet South Africa and West Indies.
“It helps that we've been through this before quite recently and probably helps the team that we didn't get too sidetracked on things that were going on further ahead.”—AFP
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