Solving the Ian Bell Question

Sometimes I wonder if I’m the only person who ever defends Ian Bell. Not that this will do him much good since it seems probable that he’ll be dropped for the second test against the West Indies tomorrow. An odd consensus appears to have emerged that Bell is especially culpable for England’s failures in the first test and that, accordingly, his is the head that must roll. Mike Selvey fires his Katyushas at Bell today:

Last Saturday, before lunch on what was to prove the final day of the first Test at Sabina Park, Ian Bell played a stroke of such staggering ineptitude that it alone should be reason enough to ensure he does not bat again for England for a considerable while. Bell is a batsman of immense talent which he has failed consistently to covert that into ability by performance. He is a fine technician, and for a while now has been in the sort of form of which others can only dream.