Bell aims for ball-by-ball coverage

As England faced up to the prospect of their first series defeat in two years, Ian Bell vowed that the pride in the team's dressing-room would be enough to prevent a capitulation on the final day of the third Test at Lahore. By the close on the penultimate evening, England had fought their way to 121 for 2 in the second innings, with Bell himself leading the resistance with his third half-century of the tour.

"We can't win the series, but we don't want to lose, and I'm very confident we can save the game," Bell told reporters at the close. "It's a good pitch and I'll take every ball as it comes, break it down, play very straight, and do what Pakistan did in their first innings. The secret is not to give your wicket away or sell it cheaply."

England still need the small matter of 227 runs to make Pakistan bat again, and so the ideal scenario would be for Bell himself to do what he does best, and occupy the crease from dawn till dusk.

"I'm not going to get carried away [by such thoughts]," he emphasised. "The key for me tomorrow is to break it down as much as I can. I'm not looking to bat until a certain time at night, I'll be taking it ball by ball. But it's been a very good wicket all through the Test match. Our target is to bat all day, so if we stick to our gameplans and play straight, then there's no reason why we can't."

"Play it straight" is something of a mantra for Bell, which made his first-innings aberration all the more unfortunate. He was one of four batsmen to fall to the sweep shot, but he was adamant that the shot would remain in his armoury.

"I know my game," he insisted. "I know I can't do certain things that Kevin Pietersen or Andrew Flintoff can do, so I've got to play in my way, and knock it round. The shot I got out to, I was purely trying to get off the strike and not trying to hit it out of the ground. It was well within my gameplan to get a single. I've played reasonably well all series and made one mistake, so I've got to capitalise when set."

"I think it depends on who's bowling and what the field placings are," he added. "A lot of the time when we play the shot, it is to move a fielder. That's in our gameplan so we're not going to change that." But Bell did concede that the match situation would have some impact on their approach. "We're just looking to bat all day tomorrow, and the pitch has dried out a bit and become a bit skiddier. There's not as much turn for the offspinner, so there's an opportunity to play straight down the ground."

For the second time in the series, Bell's major alarm of the innings came courtesy of Shoaib Akhtar's slower ball. But whereas the one at Multan dipped out of the press-box windows and bowled him between his legs (only to be called no-ball), this time was rather more dangerous, as it hurtled head-high towards his helmet and struck his forearm as he flinched defensively.

Shoaib apologised instantly and the moment was soon forgotten after some brief treatment from the physio, but Bell admitted to a moment of alarm. "For a split second I thought it was a quicker one, and I didn't see it at all. But credit to him, he's bowled it really well, and manages to get a real dip on it so that when it goes above that sightscreen it's tricky to pick up. As soon as it goes up, you lose it and start to worry."

For Bell, the final day provides an opportunity to put his personal seal on an important learning experience. He had not been expected to play in the first Test, but instead has chipped in with valuable scores in all three matches, and could yet finish as England's leading run-scorer. "My goal was not only to get into the side, but to find consistency as well," he explained. "If you want to be a top player that's got to be in your game."

India awaits for England after Christmas, and Bell is hopeful that the lessons learned here will stand the squad in good stead. "A few of the guys are in the same boat," he said. "This is our first senior trip to this part of the world, and it's been a big experience for me. We've been playing some good quality spinners, and people who know how to bowl in these conditions. It's not only about going to India but our overall cricket development. We will be better players after this."