England’s Ian Bell announces retirement from professional cricket

LONDON: Former England batsman Ian Bell, who played his last international game in 2015, will retire from professional cricket at the end of the 2020 domestic season.

The five-time Ashes winner last played for England in 2015, but has been a regular for Warwickshire, the only county he has represented during his career, since then.

Bell in a statement said, “It’s true when they say you know when the time’s right, and unfortunately, my time is now. While my hunger and enthusiasm for the sport that I love remain as strong as ever, my body simply can’t keep up with the demands of the game to the standard of which I expect of myself.”

He further said, “It’s been an absolute privilege and honour to fulfil my boyhood dream of playing for both England and Warwickshire. As a child, to play just once for either would have been enough for me, but to do so for the past 22 years is more than I could have ever wished for.”

“To have spent my entire career and won trophies with my boyhood club is something both myself and my family are enormously proud of,” the 28-year-old cricketer concluded.

Bell, who made his debut in 2004, enjoyed a span of 11 years as an England player, during which he won five Ashes series out of seven. Bell scored 7,727 runs in 118 Tests, including 22 hundreds, at a fine average of 42.69.

He was the Player of the Series in the 2013 series, where he scored 562 runs at an average of 62.44. He also appeared in 161 one-day internationals and eight T20 internationals.