Ian Bell admits Anderson boost

England middle-order batsman Ian Bell hopes James Anderson will now take his form to Old Trafford after being cleared to play in the rest of the series with India. Anderson’s participation in the ongoing series was open to question after he was summoned to an ICC hearing over an alleged confrontation with India’s Ravindra Jadeja at Trent Bridge. If found guilty, Anderson, who bagged the man of the match award at Southampton, faced a possible four-match ban ruling him out of the last two Tests.

However, both Jadeja and Anderson were cleared of their charges after a after a six-hour hearing on Friday and will line up in Manchester for the fourth match of the series on August 7.“The decision is a huge boost,” Bell told BBC Sport. “He was at his best in Southampton, he leads our attack and all the young players look up to him. “I hope he can take that form to his home ground. His experience of bowling there will be massive and give us some momentum.”