Ian Ronald Bell
Ian Ronald Bell MBE (born 11 April 1982, Coventry) is an English cricketer who plays international cricket for the England cricket team. He also plays county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club. He is a right-handed higher/middle order batsman, described in The Times as an “exquisite rapier,” who is a very good cover driver on the off side. He is an occasional right-arm medium pace bowler and a slip fielder. He is also noted for his sharp reflexes and often fields in close catching positions. He has scored twenty-two Test centuries and four ODI 100s. He is one of only a handful of batsman to have scored a test century against all current test playing nations (this excludes Zimbabwe). In 2015, he became the second player since Ian Botham to be involved in 5 Ashes series wins.
In the 2006 New Year Honours List, Ian Bell was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire for his role in the successful Ashes campaign of 2005. In November 2006, he was awarded the Emerging Player of the Year award by the International Cricket Council. During 2008 and 2009, he was a more infrequent member of the England teams however he reclaimed his Test place during the 2009 Ashes, which England won, and featured in several ODIs the following year. During 2010, he captained Warwickshire to victory in the CB40 final before scoring his first Ashes century the following winter as he helped England retain the Ashes down-under. Warwickshire County Cricket Club awarded Bell a benefit in 2011.
In July 2012, Bell signed a new three-year contract with Warwickshire extending his stay at the club at least till 2015.
In November 2015, England selectors announced that Bell would be dropped from the English side ahead of the test series with South Africa
Education and early life
Bell’s family hailed from Dunchurch, near Rugby] and he played for the local cricket club as a junior. Bell was educated at Princethorpe College, a Roman Catholic independent school in the nearby village of Princethorpe and made the 1st XI in year 7. He also attended Coventry City’s football school of excellence, despite being a supporter of Aston Villa (those two football clubs are traditional rivals), and played for Coventry and North Warwickshire Cricket Club. His brother Keith, born two years later, has played amateur cricket for Staffordshire, and has also played seven games for the Warwickshire Second XI.
Personal life
Bell married wife Chantal in 2011. They honeymooned in the Maldives. She was described by David Lloyd as “A star of a missus.” He is a football fan and an Aston Villa supporter and can be seen regularly at Villa Park during games.
