Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has paid affluent compliment to Ian Bell, saying that the England batsman was now ruling Test cricket. Bell struck 235, his best in Tests, in the final Test at The Oval.
It was his fifth Test hundred this year. The feat saw him restore Alastair Cook as the leading Test run-scorer in 2011 - Bell now has 950 runs to Cook's 927 and England's Kevin Pietersen is third with 731. Hayden, a brutally successful run-scorer, was a key member of the Australia side that led the way in Test cricket in the 1990s and 2000s.
But he has been impressed by the performance of England, who have become the world's leading Test side since defeat Australia 3-1 in an Ashes series earlier this year, in general and Bell in particular.
Ian Bell has always been a very technically sound player and he's now dominate Test cricket simply because technically he's sound, mentally he's grown up, his physical attribute are very good and he's relish the hard work,Hayden told.
Hayden, speaking after the magazine of the Argus report into the state of Australian cricket, also highlighted consistency of selection - something England was once infamous for lacking and which has been a trouble for recent Australia sides - as a key reason behind the rise of Andrew Strauss's team.
In my career there was a lot of discrepancy (in the England team), both in performances and also selection, he said.There were so many players coming in and out of the side it was really a turnstile into the English dressing room, but now it's very diverse,Hayden added.
Meanwhile, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief executive David Collier downplayed suggestions powerful England coach Andy Flower could be lost to another country. The Zimbabwean has played a key role behind the scenes during England's climb to the top of the ICC Test Championship table since captivating over from Peter Moors two years ago.
Flower rejected an move toward from India before they appointed his fellow citizen Duncan Fletcher, the former England coach, and Collier said:I think Andy made his position very clear when the Indian situation take place.