England captain Eoin Morgan has backed Ian Bell to continue his good form from the warm-ups ahead of the Tri-Series and World Cup.
Bell made 187 against the Prime Minister’s XI, the highest-ever score by an England batsman in a one-day game, as they completed their preparations ahead of the first match in the Tri-Series tomorrow.
Morgan expects Bell to be a big influence on the side after restoring him to the top of the order following the Sri Lanka tour before Christmas.
He said: “Ian is one of our most experienced cricketers. He’s a class act and has proved that over a very long period of time – particularly in Test match cricket.
“His experience over the next couple of months is going to be crucial in our success and so far he’s looked in great touch and yesterday was a great example of that.
“He was ruthless in what he did, very professional and took advantage of conditions which is what we’re looking for.”
Morgan also took time to praise the squad of players he has at his disposal, and thinks they could be well placed to surprise a few teams over the coming months.
"The priority for us is obviously winning games going forward. It would be nice to be sitting here at the end of the series with some silverware and be very confident of where we’re going as a side and very confident of what our side is going to be," he said.
Beautiful to watch... @Ian_Bellhttps://t.co/sB3PlvQ9pg
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 14, 2015
“The conditions suit our game and you saw that yesterday so we have the exact same attitude; we’re here to win the series.
“The guys have unbelievable talent and attitude to the method we want to use."
He also backed his players to continue with their positive approach to batting, saying: “I think the group of players need the trust and confidence within the group to go and play the way they do.
“We have a handful of free-spirited cricketers and Moeen (Ali) is one of them and in order to have a successful campaign out here I think its crucial we have guys comfortable and confident enough to play their own game.”
England’s first game of the winter tour begins tomorrow, when they face Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the first game of the Tri-Series, which also involves India.
Despite playing in the first game against an Australian Capital Territory XI, Morgan said there were a few concerns over the fitness of James Anderson, but thinks he should be fit.
He said: “The only concern is Jimmy. He’ll go through a full practice today and see how he pulls up tomorrow morning.
"It (resting Anderson) was more managing his workload coming back from his injury. We decided he wouldn't be able to play three games in a week and obviously the most important game is Friday.”
Our captain @Eoin16 is talking to the media ahead of #triseries opener against Australia in Sydney tomorrow #CWC15pic.twitter.com/hZkSId3npg
— England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) January 15, 2015
Meanwhile, George Bailey insists he understands his unique position in the Australia side, with the stand-in skipper the most likely player to make way should Michael Clarke return to full fitness.
He said: "Does it bother me? Not at all. We have probably more captains in the side at the moment than you can poke a stick at, which is a wonderful position to be in.
"I think every person who is playing, regardless of any other positions, will just be looking to perform to make the case for retaining them within the XI pretty compelling."