Only Test cricket can provide these wonderful finishes, which is why it is the purest form of the sport and why it needs to be preserved and cherished.Too often over the years, I have heard excuses from batsmen saying 'that is the way I play' or 'I should play my natural game'. On the contrary, it is about adapting to situations and Bell showed exactly how to do that. His display in this Test confirmed he is the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world. He scored a century and a fifty and took five catches, which is rarely achieved in Test cricket. England are very lucky to have him.He is still a very inexperienced captain who has not had the benefit of leading a county side. He is learning all the time - both tactically and in terms of how to deal with people - but he needs to be a little more attacking and show more authority in the field at times. We had everything on the final day: England's last-wicket pair together; a comical near run-out with number 11 Monty Panesar diving to make his ground; an impassioned crowd urging New Zealand towards a rare series win; and the game not decided until the final ball. New Zealand almost made them pay but England saved face by the narrowest of margins. Good teams do not lose many matches and they have not lost any matches.
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
Auckland great escape
Only Test cricket can provide these wonderful finishes, which is why it is the purest form of the sport and why it needs to be preserved and cherished.Too often over the years, I have heard excuses from batsmen saying 'that is the way I play' or 'I should play my natural game'. On the contrary, it is about adapting to situations and Bell showed exactly how to do that. His display in this Test confirmed he is the best wicketkeeper-batsman in the world. He scored a century and a fifty and took five catches, which is rarely achieved in Test cricket. England are very lucky to have him.He is still a very inexperienced captain who has not had the benefit of leading a county side. He is learning all the time - both tactically and in terms of how to deal with people - but he needs to be a little more attacking and show more authority in the field at times. We had everything on the final day: England's last-wicket pair together; a comical near run-out with number 11 Monty Panesar diving to make his ground; an impassioned crowd urging New Zealand towards a rare series win; and the game not decided until the final ball. New Zealand almost made them pay but England saved face by the narrowest of margins. Good teams do not lose many matches and they have not lost any matches.
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