Ian Bell

To watch Bell in full flow is to witness a batting textbook being brought to life.

Accomplished all around the wicket, the Warwickshire-born batsman benefits from a near-faultless technique and was earmarked for greatness before he had appeared for his home county.

Bell became the youngest player to make a century for the Bears at the age of 19 years and 115 days and had played just 13 first-class games when he was called into the England squad for the first time in 2002.

He eventually made his Test debut against West Indies in August 2004, striking 70 in his only innings.

Bell also made a positive impression on his one-day international bow against Zimbabwe when his 75 at the top of the order was enough to earn him the match award.

After excelling at the start of the 2005 domestic summer, Bell returned to the Test team to face Bangladesh, responding with unbeaten scores of 65 and 162.

He struggled to make an impact as England emerged victorious in the Ashes, but was his country’s top-scorer on the subsequent tour of Pakistan, against whom he then scored three successive hundreds the following summer.

Having been named as the International Cricket Council’s Emerging player of the year for 2006, the classy Bell seemed to have established himself as an integral part of England’s plans.

Ian Bell boasts a near-faultless technique and was England's highest scorer in Test cricket in 2011, with 950 runs at 118.75

A superb innings of 199 against South Africa at Lord’s in July 2008 silenced those who criticised his inability to convert fifties into hundreds but, seven months later, he was dropped after England slumped to a hugely disappointing defeat in the first Test against West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

Recalled midway through the 2009 Ashes, Bell showed his character with valuable half-centuries at Edgbaston and the Oval.

It was in South Africa that winter where he truly blossomed, however, striking 140 in an innings victory at Kingsmead before compiling a defiant second-innings 78 that helped England save the third Test in Cape Town.

Bell continued to flourish on England's next assignment in Bangladesh and his increased fluency led to a one-day recall.

A stunning 95-ball 107 for Warwickshire, as captain, in the 2010 Clydesdale Bank 40 final highlighted the confidence of a player reaching the peak of his career.

He went on to excel in the 2010-11 Ashes, scoring 115 - his first Test hundred against Australia - in the final Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground to help England wrap up an historic 3-1 series win.

If that was impressive, Bell’s performances throughout England’s international summer in 2011 were even more worthy of praise.

Both Sri Lanka and India came in for heavy punishment as he amassed four centuries in seven Tests, including a majestic 159 against the latter at Trent Bridge, which was followed by a career-best 235 at the Oval that saw him leapfrog team-mate Alastair Cook as the highest scorer for the calendar year.

Bell endured a difficult winter, particularly in the 3-0 loss to Pakistan, but was back to his brilliant best in the summer - epitomised by his resurgence in ODI cricket.

Given a chance at the top of the order following Kevin Pietersen’s shock retirement from limited-overs internationals, he responded with a brilliant 126 against West Indies, eventually winning man of the series in that rubber before repeating the trick in the subsequent 4-0 win over Australia.

A maiden Test century in India followed at the end of 2012 as England secured a landmark series win.