Bell keen to make most of Mahela advice

Cricket365
October 1, 2015

England batsman Ian Bell is excited about the prospect of learning from Sri Lanka batting legend Mahela Jayawardene, who will be a batting consultant for England over the next few months.

Jayawardene will be with the side for the tour to the UAE to face Pakistan next month, and Bell says he'll be bending the recently retired batsman's ear about spin batting and the conditions.

Bell said: "The one thing we need to do is get better on the subcontinent, and he's one of the best ever.

"To have his input leading into the series, and all the preparation, is going to be huge for us. I'm really looking forward to that.

"He was certainly hard to get out in those conditions, so I'll be picking his brain all the way through if I can, probably badgering him a bit too much, but trying to get everything I can out of him to make my game better."

The last time England went to the UAE, they lost 3-0 to Pakistan, and Bell hopes he's learned from that experience, and that the spinners are able to do well. He also expects a more flexible approach to the batting order.

He added: "Experience tells me in the UAE you have to be flexible, you have to go for a different style of cricket.

"We have to look for another alternative when we go to the subcontinent. We potentially might be opening with a spinner, so to have the option of having two or even three spinners is nice.

"If Mo does get an opportunity to open the batting then it gives us another slot for us to get another bowler in, which is interesting. It's a squad with a lot of possibilities."