Paul Harris is not a great bowler. Yes, he's managed to finagle his way up to ninth in the Test rankings basically by boring people out. He doesn't turn it - once thought of as a rudimentary principle of spin bowling - apart from the odd one that grips, such as the one Paul Collingwood got in the current Test match. If any English players should know about his game plan, it's his former Warwickshire team-mates among which Ian Bell is included.
So why then does Bell stand and watch as a straight-onner crashes into his stumps? It wasn't even close to being a good leave, hitting middle and off about half way up. I've been a big supporter and defender of Bell in the past, but that dismissal was simply diabolical. Park cricketers would be furious with themselves for doing likewise and so it's with heavy heart that I have to agree with what has been received wisdom for some time now and admit that he's got to go. He'll forever be remembered as a nearly man. He still has the ability, but every time he goes out to bat for England now, he looks nervous and opposition bowlers are beginning to see him as a walking wicket. The balance of the side for the first Test in South Africa looked all wrong from the outset and another bowler is needed. Bell has to step aside.
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