England batsman Ian Bell admitted his century against Australia in the first Ashes Test was his finest innings, but is now putting that behind him.
While seamer James Anderson took most of the plaudits in England’s thrilling 14-run success to take a 1-0 lead in the five-Test series, Bell struck the only three-figure score of the match at Trent Bridge after coming to the crease with England under a bit of pressure in the second innings.
By the time the Warwickshire man was eventually dismissed for 109 from 267 balls, his knock helped Alastair Cook’s men set the tourists an imposing target of 311 for victory.
His innings has been described as the best of his career and while Bell agrees with the sentiments, he does not want to rest on his laurels and is keen to make his mark in the second Test at Lord’s later this week.
“Yeah, definitely. I’m very happy to contribute to the team at the right opportunity and I’m hungry for more,” he said.
“That’s in the past now and the important thing is what happens in this next Test match and if I can contribute again to us winning a Test match then that’s what I’ll be doing in preparation over the next two days to make sure I can do the same again for England.
Bell added on Sky Sports News: “We were excited. We thought it was a great Test match, every player enjoyed it. Let’s hope the next one is exactly the same.”