Ian Bell has acknowledged he has fallen short of match-winning efforts too often as an England opener, but he is ready to put that behind him after a record knock of 187 yesterday.
Bell hit 20 fours and three sixes in a 145-ball knock against an Australian Prime Minister's XI. In the process, he registered England's best one-day score as his side reached 391 for six.
It was enough to settle a high-scoring contest in the tourists' favour, by a margin of 60 runs.
Bell was not required for England's last five matches in Sri Lanka before Christmas but earned a recall in the aftermath of Alastair Cook's departure as captain. He made an immediate state of intent with his big score, which was supported by half-centuries from opening partner Moeen Ali (71) and James Taylor (71).
Bell knows a record of three centuries in 150 one-day internationals is not enough for a player of his calibre and intends on changing that for the better in the forthcoming tri-series with Australia and India, which begins tomorrow, and the World Cup.
"One thing I've probably been guilty of in the time I've been opening is getting to 60, 70, 80 but never really gone on and enjoyed myself the way I did today," he said.
"I've been guilty in one-day cricket of getting a lot of 50s and not converting enough, but this is what I can do if I bat 45.5 overs or whatever it was.
"I've spoken to [coach] Peter Moores about that, and I believe I can play at the top of the order for England.
"The thing is converting starts into match-winning scores. Today was pretty much perfect template-wise, and that's how I'd like to play in one-day cricket.
"If I can do that a couple of times this winter, that's great for the team."
Bell was honest enough to accept that he was not a certain pick in the first XI ahead of the World Cup, which begins on February 14, with the Twenty20 opener Alex Hales having his supporters and Gary Ballance also involved in the 15-man squad.
But he has benefited from a vote of confidence from Cook's replacement as captain, Eoin Morgan. "Coming out here, I didn't know where I was going to bat or if I would start, so it was nice to have a good chat with Morgs and for him to say I would get first crack at opening," Bell said.
"That filled me with a lot of confidence. I've done a lot of netting in the last month or so but not a lot of game time. It was nice to get a really big score in a competitive match.
"You want it to be competitive, people playing for places. That's a good thing, but it's nice to get on the tour and start well."
Glenn Maxwell, who will feature for Australia in the series, gave England's bowlers a torrid time as he struck 136 runs off 89 balls, with 20 boundaries and two sixes during his knock as the Prime Minister's XI made 331 in their innings.
Pat Cummins, who is also part of the Australia squad along with Maxwell, praised Bell but made a cheeky prediction for the coming weeks.
"The innings he played was pretty faultless," said the seamer, whose six overs cost 52.
"He hit the balls along the ground, picked the gaps and was very impressive. But I think he's got his runs out of the way for the tour now, so I'm pleased he's back in the shed!"
Follow us on Twitter at SprtNationalUAE
England’s Ian Bell strikes to serve notice of his intentions to score big in tri-series warm-up in Australia
Makeshift opener hits 187 in tour game to drive in the fact that batting lower down the order has limited his career.
Most popular today
