Ian Bell plans six-hitting spree to cement place in top four of England's ODI side

Struggle: Ian Bell has found it hard to adapt to one-day cricket
10 April 2012

Ian Bell believes fewer youngsters will hone the technique required to become a top-class Test batsman because of the increasing focus on limited-overs cricket.

Bell was expected to bat at No4 for England in today's second one-day international against India in Southampton, moving back up the order after a difficult stint at No6 during the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka earlier in the summer.

Bell has matured into one of the world's best batsmen in the Test arena but has yet to find that success in the one-day game. The 29-year-old has managed only one century- which actually came against India here in 2007 - in 103 matches in this format.

Bell is confident he can master the shorter forms of the game but admits that he starts at a disadvantage when compared to players like Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, who appear naturally far more at ease in limited-overs games.

"I can still hit sixes," said Bell, who has cleared the ropes 13 times in ODIs. "I can do it against spinners in Test matches [the Warwickshire man has hit 16 maximums in the five-day format] so I can do it in a one-day international. The difference is being able to do it from ball one, which is very different from getting yourself in, going through the gears and then doing it.

"Clearing your front leg and hitting a six from the first ball is not something I grew up doing. I grew up trying to hit a nice cover drive and learning to play Test cricket, whereas young players now grow up looking at Twenty20 and trying to hit the ball.

"It is easier for them to do it than it is for someone who grew up looking to play Test cricket. You can see the skills these players bring to the team now; they have more than batsmen 10 years ago would have had. These skills are what modern cricketers now grow up with. I am working on it and I am desperate to improve my cricket because that is what you have to do. This is the way the game is going."

In the first of the five matches in this series, at Chester-le-Street on Saturday, no result was possible because of the rain and both teams are hoping for better luck today.

Poor weather has been forecast for the Southampton area, meaning the sides are preparing themselves for the possibility of a shorter contest. India are still looking for their first victory of a miserable tour and they will have to do so without Sachin Tendulkar, who became the eighth injury casualty of their stint in England when his toe problem ruled him out of the rest of the series.

Batsman Parthiv Patel said: "You can't fill the shoes of Sachin Tendulkar, no matter who you are. It is a big loss to the team but also a chance for the youngsters to prove themselves."

Subramaniam Badrinath, a batsman who has played seven ODIs, has been added to the India squad in place of Tendulkar but is not expected to join them until later this week.

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