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Pietersen: Bell should be England opener

14/06/2008

Kevin Pietersen has argued the case for Ian Bell to be an opening batsman for the England one-day side after he impressed in the Twenty20 international against New Zealand.

Bell scored an impressive 60 not out from just 46 balls as the hosts romped to victory over the Black Caps at the Riverside.

Pietersen contributed 42 not out as England easily chased down the tourists' score of 123 with two-and-a-half overs and nine wickets to spare.

Bell opened the batting with Luke Wright, who was the only England player to be dismissed.

And despite critics of the Warwickshire player suggesting he does not have the expansive game necessary for one-day and Twenty20 cricket, Pietersen believes Bell's performance was a suitable answer.

"What a great knock," the explosive Hampshire batsman said.

"With he shots he played, I think he should open the innings.

"He's a fantastic player who can hit boundaries."

With the ball several England players stepped up, as James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann all took two wickets each with Wright and captain Paul Collingwood each contributing one of their own.

And Pietersen described the performance as "fantastic".

"You can't ask for better," he went on.

"We hit our straps from ball one and it was a really classy performance.

"The guys showed that, on our day, it's pretty hard to beat this team. Everybody should be proud."