Praise for England's best ODI bat Bell
Paul Collingwood has paid tribute to Ian Bell, after the classy right-hander surpassed him as England's premier One Day International batsman.
Bell's career-best 141 off 125 balls in Australia's three-wicket tri-series win in Hobart on Friday pushed him to the top of the list of English runscorers with 5,136 runs, surpassing Collingwood's mark of 5,092.
"Well done to @Ian_Bell on the leading ODI run scorer for England #gingerpower," Collingwood wrote on his Twitter account.
In recognizing the milestone Bell wrote on the social media platform: "Gutted about the result today. Thanks though to everyone for all of your kind messages about the personal milestones. Really appreciated."
Bell's hundred continued his sublime run in Australia since England landed Down Under earlier this month.
He smashed an England record for a 50-over match of 187 off 145 balls in England's 60 run win over the PM's XI in Canberra two weeks ago, and hit 88 not out off 91 balls in his team's nine-wicket win over India in Brisbane earlier this week.
The 32-year-old's only failure has been a platinum duck in England's three-wicket defeat to Australia at the SCG on January 16.
Bell shapes as a key figure for England in their quest for their first World Cup title ahead of their tournament opener against Australia at the MCG on February 14.
THE BELL TOLLS; ENGLAND'S LEADING ODI RUNSCORERS:
Ian Bell: 5136 runs in 153 matches at 37.76
Paul Collingwood: 5092 runs in 197 matches at 35.56
Alec Stewart: 4677 runs in 170 matches at 31.60
Kevin Pietersen: 4422 runs in 134 matches at 41.32
Marcus Trescothick: 4335 in 123 matches at 37.37
