Published: Nov 20, 2015, 12:22 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 20, 2015, 12:22 PM (IST)
Johannesburg: Former South African wicketkeeper Mark Boucher has expressed his surprise over the omission of Ian Bell and Kevin Pietersen from England‘s Test squad for the upcoming series against South Africa. “Eng without @KP24 and now @Ian_Bell… I may be wrong, but I’m feeling a sudden boost of confidence throughout SA fans. #interesting,” Boucher wrote on Twitter. Veteran batsman Bell, who is England’s second highest run scorer across all formats, has been struggling for form. He has averaged 30.87 in his last 10 Test innings, Sport24 reported. Meanwhile, maverick batsman Kevin Pietersen has not represented his country since the 2013/14 Ashes series despite averaging 47.28 in Tests. READ: Kevin Pietersen slams decision to drop Ian Bell for England vs South Africa 2015 series
Earlier, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen had also described the England selectors’ decision to drop top-order batsman Ian Bell from the squad for the upcoming Test series against South Africa as ‘pathetic’. Pietersen said that Bell should be included for his experience, insisting that the team could not drop him before the South Africa tour,the Guardian reported. Considering the decision as absolutely ridiculous, the 35-year-old felt that Bell has been treated unfairly by the England selectors. Earlier, reflecting on Bell’s exclusion, national selector James Whitaker said that Bell has been struggling for runs in recent series and, therefore, it was a right time for him to take a break and improve on his game. The two sides will play the four-match series from December 26 at Durban. ALSO READ: Ian Bell axed, Nick Compton included in England squad for South Africa tour 2015-16
“Ian Bell has been an outstanding player for many years and undoubtedly still has plenty to offer England in the future,” Whitaker said in a statement on the ECB website. “It was clearly a difficult decision, but he has struggled for runs in recent series and we felt that it was the right time for him to take a break and spend time working on his game out of the spotlight.”
