Tuesday 14 April 2015 06:45, UK
Ian Bell was delighted to banish bad memories of Antigua as he hit a century to spare England embarrassment on the opening day of their Test series with the West Indies.
Bell's 22nd Test century, in the first match of three, helped Alastair Cook's team recover from 34-3 to a close-of-play 341-5 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
The Warwickshire batsman, who scored 143, was dropped by England in the 2009 tour of the West Indies after being part of the side that was bowled out for 51 in Jamaica, and it was in Antigua he learned he had lost his place in the five-day team.
But there was no such trouble for Bell six years down the line as he helped England recover from a dreadful first hour in significant partnerships with Joe Root (83) and Ben Stokes, who scored an exciting 71 and will get the chance to add to that score on Tuesday.
Bell, who was dismissed an over before the close, told Sky Sports: "For me, it was nice - coming here in 2009, this was where I got dropped after our shemozzle in Jamaica, so I was determined to come out and play as well as I could.
"It was nice to come back and put things right."
England were soon in trouble with the early loss of openers Jonathan Trott and Cook, after Denesh Ramdin surprisingly put them in, and Bell added: "It was a tricky first morning.
"Then the wicket dried out and it was nice to cash in during the afternoon. I thought they bowled well for two hours, they really did."
He was thankful for the assistance of Root and Stokes, en route to his 194-ball century.
"Joe's good to bat with in that situation," he said. "He's quite relaxed, and energetic so it was a matter of trying to put some pressure back on the bowlers.
"He's worked really hard and you can't ask for more than that."
And of Stokes, he added: "To come in and play like he did (is really good) - it's always tricky when you're leading into the second new ball.
"It would have been nice not to have lost one at the end but I hope we can win the first session tomorrow."
