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Message: <blockquote data-quote="chandikagunawardhana" data-source="post: 5384686" data-attributes="member: 11539">Bell fronts up for England Ian Bell withstood the pressure of the big occasion to a degree he has never previously managed in his 49-Test career, to carry England's hopes of a competitive first innings on the first day of the decisive fifth Test at The Oval. By tea, Bell had eased along to 72 from 136 balls, having emerged from a torrid first session to settle into a composed and mature performance. Alongside him at the break was the debutant Jonathan Trott, who came close to running himself out in search of his first run, but eventually got off the mark from his 12th delivery, to wild cheers from the crowd.England's tea-time scoreline of 180 for 3 represented a steady position, nothing more, but compared to their travails on the opening day of the fourth Test at Headingley, it was riches beyond compare. On that occasion they had been rolled over for 102 and drummed out of the contest inside two sessions. This time, they used the same period of time to lay a platform on a slow wicket which was nevertheless showing early signs of breaking up. When Ricky Ponting turned to the part-time spin of Marcus North in the final half-hour of the session, he might already have been regretting the omission of the specialist spinner, Nathan Hauritz.The backbone of England's performance was Bell, for whom this was his sixth half-century in his last eight Tests against Australia, but by some distance his most significant. He came to the crease as early as the sixth over, when Alastair Cook's poor series continued with a prod to second slip off Peter Siddle, and immediately the ghosts of his 2005 performance appeared to flood his mind, and those of the Australian bowlers, as he came within a whisker of picking up his third Ashes duck in a row at the venue, when Siddle crashed a fifth-ball bouncer into his wrist.Utilising a new, more upright stance to combat the lbw threat from the swinging ball, Bell at first looked distinctly uncomfortable against the short ball, as Australia sensed an opportunity to blast him from the crease. Mitchell Johnson, confirming the return to form that earned him five wickets at Headingley, produced a searingly quick first over with three consecutive rib-ticklers, the last of which would have hopped off Bell's gloves and straight into the hands of the vacant leg gully.But Bell survived, and even began to thrive with Siddle offering him room to work the ball off his toes into the leg-side. However, the introduction of Stuart Clark posed a new threat. Throttling his pace right back to the high 70mphs, Clark settled into a tight and restrictive off-stump line, and a frustrated Bell might have been caught in the gully as he snatched a rare hint of width and skewed a drive through third man for four. But to his credit, he did not buckle and raced through the 30s with a brace of fours off Hilfenhaus, as the undisputed class of his strokeplay began to become the decisive factor in his performance.At the other end, virtually unnoticed as Bell took the heat of the bowling, was Andrew Strauss, seemingly aloof to the big-match nerves, just as he had been on this ground in 2005 when he rose above the occasion to set England's platform with a first-day century. He was given a range of welcome sighters when Ben Hilfenhaus served up his most disappointing new-ball spell of the summer, then hurtled to his third half-century of the series with three fours in an over from Siddle, including a sublime clip off the toes to finish.But the second session had barely begun when Strauss gave his great start away, hanging a limp bat outside off to his seventh delivery after the break, and grazing a low nick through to Brad Haddin off Hilfenhaus. It later transpired that the wicket-taking delivery should have been called as a massive no-ball, but it was a rare case of batsman error in a previously blemish-free performance. Strauss departed, head bowed, for 55 from 101 balls, and England were teetering just a fraction on 114 for 2.Out to the middle came another promoted batsman, Paul Collingwood, who memorably made a double-century against Australia at Adelaide in 2006-07 while batting at No. 4, and the move up the order appeared to have focussed his mind after a limp run of innings since his match-saving 74 at Cardiff. While Bell provided the embellishment during an attritional but vital afternoon of accumulation, Collingwood played the sheet anchor, reaching 24 from 65 balls before his weakness outside off stump once again resurfaced, as he squirted a fat edge to Mike Hussey in the gully off Siddle.</blockquote>

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