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Former England batter Ian Bell has been named Sri Lanka's batting coach for their upcoming tour of England. Sri Lanka will play three Tests in England from August 21 to September 10. Bell will be with the Sri Lankan side until the conclusion of the Test series.
Bell (42) represented England in 118 Tests, 161 ODIs and eight T20Is, scoring over 13000 international runs. The former right-handed batter hit 22 hundreds in Tests and four in the ODI format.
While confirming Bell's appointment as batting coach for the England tour, Ashley De Silva, CEO, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in an official release:
“We appointed Ian to bring in a person with local knowledge to help the players with key insights on the conditions there. Ian has a lot of experience playing in England, and we believe his inputs will help our team in this crucial tour."
Having played his last international game in 2015, Bell retired from professional cricket at the end of the 2020 season.
Ian Bell involved in bizarre incident during 2011 Nottingham Test
While Bell is known for his sublime batting skills, he was part of a rather bizarre incident during the second India vs England Test in Nottingham played in July-August 2011. At the stroke of tea on Day 3, he was run-out in contentious fashion as he left the crease before the ball was dead.
Watch video below
Eoin Morgan had flicked the last ball of the 66th over from Ishant Sharma to deep square leg. The fielder, Praveen Kumar, stopped the ball and tumbled over the ropes. The England batters ran three and then headed towards the pavilion for tea. Meanwhile, Kumar threw the ball towards Abhinav Mukund, who took off the bails at the striker's end and appealed for a run-out.
After confirming with Indian captain MS Dhoni as to whether the fielding side wants to go ahead with the appeal, the on field umpires referred to the decision to the third umpire. Since the ball wasn't declared dead, the third umpire ruled in favor of the fielding side and adjudged a stunned Bell run-out.
The Indians left the field amid plenty of boos from the home crowd. However, there was a twist in the tale as Bell walked out to bat with Morgan after the tea break. During the interval, England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower went to the Indian dressing room to ask Dhoni if he could withdraw the appeal against Bell. After consulting his teammates, the Indian skipper agreed to the same.
