England coach Andy Flower believes there would have been a “proper international incident’ had an India batsman been run out in Ian Bell-like fashion in India. Bell was run out on the stroke of tea on the third day of the second Test at Trent Bridge after incorrectly assuming the ball had gone ‘dead’. Although the England batsman, who’d then made 137, was not seeking to gain an extra run, India were well within their rights to run him out and, after several minutes of confusion, Bell was eventually dismissed. But India sportingly withdrew the appeal during the interval, following an approach by England, and the jeers of the crowd when the tourists returned turned to cheers when they saw Bell coming out to resume his innings. Many former players said Bell had been in the wrong, with West Indies fast bowling great Michael Holding adamant the batsman should not have been reprieved having taken it upon himself to assume the functions of an umpire. India batsman Rahul Dravid said afterwards the thought of ‘what if it had been one of us?’ had played a key role in the withdrawal of the appeal and Flower insisted: “You should consider what their reaction would have been if the England side had run out an Indian player like that.”