SLC appoint Ian Bell as Batting Coach for England Tests

Ian Bell represented England from 2004 to 2015 (File photo) 

Sri Lanka have appointed former England batter Ian Bell as their Batting Coach for the ongoing England tour.  

Sri Lanka will bank on the experience of the former England Test great as their batting coach for the series.  

Bell represented England from 2004 to 2015, playing 118 Tests and scoring 7,727 runs in the format at an average of 42.69. He scored 22 hundreds and 46 fifties in his Test career.  
Ashley de Silva, CEO of Sri Lanka Cricket, believed Bell could bring key insights into the local conditions.  

“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.”  

Bell will start working with the team on August 16 until the three-Test series concludes.  

The Test series will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship where Sri Lanka are currently placed fourth in the standings while England are sixth.   Bell, who had revealed his interest in becoming the head coach of a side “not because I am an ex-player but because I am ready” has been associated with several teams in the recent past.  

In 2021, a year after retiring from all formats, Bell became the Assistant Coach of the Big Bash League (BBL) Team Hobart Hurricanes.  

In April 2022, he joined the county side Derbyshire as a Consultant Batting Coach and later that year, was a part of the Lions’ coaching staff to train the young batters from across the country.  

Before the ODI World Cup last year, Bell was a member of New Zealand’s coaching team for the series against England and Bangladesh.  

Last year, he also joined Melbourne Renegades as an Assistant Coach in the BBL.  

During the ongoing Hundred, Bell is working closely with wicket-keeper Jamie Smith for the Birmingham Phoenix.  

The three-match series will begin on August 21 with the three games scheduled to be held at Old Trafford, Lord’s and The Oval respectively.  

Sri Lanka Test Squad:  
Dhananjaya de Silva (Captain), Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (Vice-Captain), Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Lahiru Kumara, Nisala Tharaka, Prabath Jayasuriya, Ramesh Mendis, Jeffrey Vandersay and Milan Rathnayake. 
(Agencies)