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http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/902675.html
Bell has averaged 9.00 in his last 7 tests (13 innings)
I reckon he is either close to retirement or getting the sack
24-7-15
Since the beginning of 2012, Ian Bell averages 34.69 when batting in the top six; among regular top-order batsmen, only Shane Watson has a lower average
When Ian Bell is playing well, there are few better sights in cricket. No matter what the match situation, he has an assuredness and solidity that immediately calms dressing-room nerves, while his grace and elegance makes batting look like one of the easiest tasks in the world.
The problem, though, is that Bell hasn't been playing well for much of the last few years. Since the start of the 2013-14 Ashes series in Australia, in 19 Tests (34 innings), Bell has averaged 28.48, with only two hundreds - one each against India and West Indies. While that itself is a pretty long run of poor form, Bell's lean spell runs even longer than that, though interspersed by a couple of exceptional series: since the beginning of 2012, Bell's average in 43 Tests (78 innings) is 34.28, which is well below what you'd expect from a player of his class and ability. The one exceptional series he has had during this period was the home Ashes contest in 2013, when he was by far England's best, scoring 562 runs at 62.44, in a series in which no other England batsman touched 400. Bell was colossal in that series, but on either side of that series have been barren spells which hardly do justice to a batsman of his calibre.
Over the last three-and-a-half years, Bell's stats are unquestionably one of the poorest for specialist batsmen. Among batsmen in the top six who've batted at least 40 innings - there are 28 on that list - only Shane Watson has an average lower than Bell's 34.69. Given that Watson has also bowled a bit during this period - 18 wickets at 33.50 - Bell's average is the worst among specialist batsmen. In these 43 Tests, the overall average for all players who batted in the top six was 37.41, which means Bell was about 7% poorer than the average specialist batsman. There are three other England batsmen in the list below, but Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen are no longer in the England squad, while Alastair Cook has clearly regained his mojo after a long lean spell.
England's best during this period, Joe Root, has averaged 55.22, and is one of nine batsmen with 55-plus averages. Hashim Amla is on top of that list with an average of 65.73, while Steven Smith, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kumar Sangakkara and AB de Villiers have all averaged more than 63. It's true that England have tended to play in relatively low-scoring games compared to some of the other sides - the overall top-order average in the 28 Tests AB de Villiers played during this period is 41.03, compared 37.41 for Bell - but even so it's clear that Bell has underperformed, especially given that he has been one of England's senior batsmen during this period.
Bell has averaged 9.00 in his last 7 tests (13 innings)
I reckon he is either close to retirement or getting the sack