Warwickshire batsman Ian Bell flew out to join up with England’s squad in the Caribbean this week ready to chase a surprise chance to force his way into contention for the Twenty20 World Cup in Bangladesh later this month.
Bell is not selected in the original 16-strong party for the T20 World Cup but has been called out to the West Indies as batting cover in the light of one or two injury doubts around the squad.
And after a few weeks off to dust himself down following England’s Ashes mauling, the Bears batsman is happy to be involved again – and keen to press his case for inclusion in the national team in all formats in the coming season.
“It will be exciting to be around a T20 camp again,” Bell said.
“I haven’t been part of the England T20 team for a couple of years now and very rarely do I get the chance to play it with Warwickshire with the way the fixtures have fallen in recent years.
“It’s nice to be thought of as cover and it will be good to be in the meetings and listening to what’s going on.
“I never want to stop learning and there are some guys out there in the squad who have played a lot of Twenty20 cricket so I can learn from them. That will help me, both in terms of England and when I come back to Warwickshire and helping the Bears win some T20 games.
“I am only going out there for ten days, as it stands, but if the injuries don’t clear up then there is a possibility I could go to the World Cup, which would be most unexpected.”
Following the Ashes whitewash, England’s teams are heading for a period of deep transition but Bell remains keen to stay involved on Test, ODI and T20 fronts, if he can.
“You only play for England for a small period of time so you want to play every game you can,” he said. “As a player, you always want to challenge yourself and get better in all formats.”
Bell is expected to be available for Warwickshire’s early Twenty20 games next season and it has been confirmed that the team will play T20 cricket under the name Birmingham Bears in 2014 after the city council confirmed it has no intention of withdrawing its request for them to do so.
The county has annoyed many of its supporters by acceding to the council’s “request” – which was actually more akin to an offer they could not refuse, the council having loaned the cricket club £20 million to rebuild the Pavilion End at Edgbaston.
Even though the name-change applies only in T20 – and both club and council have made clear that it will only ever do so – it will jar among many cricket-lovers to see Warwickshire’s cricketers perform under another title.
But Birmingham Bears it will be – for the 2014 season at least, after which the success or otherwise of the change (designed to bring a new audience into Edgbaston for the short-format) will be evaluated.
“The new name is not a council decision – it is a joint decision between the council and the club,” said Coun Ian Ward. “I know the club is all geared up to start really marketing the Birmingham Bears games and Friday nights at Edgbaston as really special occasions.
“It is all designed to drive up attendances at Twenty20 games and generate interest. Then we will sit down at the end of the season and see whether it has worked.
“This change was only ever intended to apply to Twenty20 and we don’t see it as ever applying anywhere else.”
