Ian Ronald Bell MBE (born 11 April 1982 in Coventry, West Midlands) is an England Test cricketer . He also plays county cricket for Warwickshire County Cricket Club . He is a right-handed higher/middle order batsman, described by The Times as an "exquisite rapier," and occasional right-arm medium pace bowler . He is also noted for his sharp reflexes and often fields in close catching positions . By this time Bell had made his first-class debut, appearing in a single match for the Warwickshire first team in September 1999, but was out for a duck in his only innings and played no further part at that level until 2000/01, when he followed on from his Under-19 matches by playing for England A against the Leeward Islands in the Busta Cup tournament game in Anguilla . In 2002 Bell's four-day form fell away as he scored 658 at an average of 24 .37 however he was instrumental in the counties Benson & Hedges Cup success . He top-scored in the Quarter-final (scoring 85 not out), Semi-final (46) and Final (65 not out), the latter performance winning him the Gold Award in the last ever Benson & Hedges Cup final . After two poor seasons Bell was back to his best in 2004, he scored 1498 Championship runs which included six centuries . One of the six was a career-best 262 not out against Sussex; the innings lasting ten minutes short of ten hours made him the county's youngest ever double-centurion . In late July he began an impressive sequence of four centuries in five first-class innings, the other being a score of 96 not out . The centuries in both innings against Lancashire were the first by a Warwickshire batsman against an authentic attack (David Hemp achieved the feat against declaration bowling) since Brian Lara in 1994 . This run of form led to him being brought into the England Test squad when Graham Thorpe was left doubtful with a finger injury . .