Ian Bell

British cricket speaker and England batsman Ian Bell is one of few players to score a century against all current test playing nations and whose success garnered a place on the 2006 New Year’s Honours List where he was given an MBE for his services to British sport and work as a cricket speaker. Born in Coventry Ian Bell has played for his local domestic team, Warwickshire Cricket Club since he was 16 years’ old making his first-class debut in 1999, Bell finally made it into the Warwickshire first team in 2001 and has continued to work as a batsman and cricket speaker for the team ever since. Beyond his commitments as a player Bell has also worked as a sports speaker on Warwick’s Cricket Board since 1999 and in 2005 embarked on a four-year stint with Marylebone Cricket Club.

Bell currently holds the record for Warwickshire’s youngest player to score a test century, a score of 130 against Oxford UCCE at 19 years and 56 days old, and spent much of his youth career known as the greatest under 17 player of his generation and became the county’s youngest ever capped player; Bell frequently appears as an after dinner speaker for his local club and is beloved by fans and Warwickshire locals.

Bell’s success has continued since graduating into the Senior League with a number of impressive appearances as part of the English International Team. Ian Bell made his first appearance in the England Test team in 2004 when he was brought in to replace an injured Mark Butcher on the New Zealand tour. Bell has since appeared in over 100 Test Matches and scored 42 Test 50’s, thanks to his part in the 2005 Ashes Tour Bell received an MBE and in 2006 was named the International Cricket Council’s Emerging Player of the Year. Bell holds a Test batting average of 45.00 and is frequently called upon to appear at after dinner speaker events for the International cricket team. As well as demonstrating success as a Test cricket player Ian Bell MBE also boasts three ODI centuries and almost 150 ODI appearances; his work as a sports speaker and cricket player has taken him around the world and Bell has competed against some of the most acclaimed international cricketers of the last ten years.