Buzzin Cricket

With their being much debate over the future of Twenty20 cricket and how much it should be played by international teams, I can assure you there is one man who is grateful for its presence in England’s calendar – Ian Bell.

The Warwickshire batsmen had a timely return to form, hitting a fluent 60 off just 46 balls as Paul Collingwood’s side recorded an emphatic nine wicket victory over New Zealand.

You have to praise the selectors for not only sticking with Bell, but giving him the chance to shine at the top of the order. After a fairly horrific test series it would have been easy to drop him from the team completely. Bell only averaged 15 in the three test matches and will hope to use this innings as a platform to rebuild his form for the rest of the summer.

As for the game itself – it was a bit of a non contest. New Zealand struggled early on with the bat and never really recovered from being 14-2 early on. Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor threatened to ignite the Kiwi innings, but both were dismissed for less than 30.

Following on from the test match at Trent Bridge, the England bowling attack was again impressive. Stuart Broad and James Anderson picked up two wickets a piece, with Broad only going for 17 runs in his four overs. Remarkable figures for a Twenty20 game!

Graham Swann also picked up a couple of wickets and in doing so, going someway to justifying his selection over fellow left-arm spinner – Monty Panesar.

A score of 123-9 was never going to be enough for Daniel Vettori’s men. In response Luke Wright blasted a quick fire 20, before it was left to Bell and the in-form Kevin Pietersen to see England home with over two overs to spare. It was a stylish win from the home side and hopefully a sign of things to come ahead of the one-day internationals.

The encouraging thing for England, I think, is the consistency in selection for all forms of the game. The majority of the test team kept their place for the Twenty20 game and will do so again for the 50 over matches. English cricket has been famous for making drastic changes to the side, but this seems to be in the past now and we are watching the benefits.

As for the Kiwis, well they look a beaten side. Despite them being superior to the England side in the one-day rankings, I expect Collingwood to lead his side to victory in the five match series. In terms of cricket bets, I’d also be inclined to say that you’d be wise to stick some money on Ian Bell having a successful series and in doing so, removing any doubts about his place in the test team.