Bell reveals was boosted by Warne's 'Sherminator' dig to become Oz's 'chief tormentor'

Elegant England batsman Ian Bell has revealed that he started to take on the role of Australia's chief tormentor after spin legend Shane Warne poked fun at him, calling him 'the Sherminator' during the 2006/2007 Ashes series, which Australia won 5-0.

Bell, who made three hundreds in the Ashes series just gone and boasts a Test batting average of over 46, did not always enjoy playing against Australia until Warne named him after the geeky, red-haired character Chuck Sherman from the American Pie movies.

According to News.com.au, Bell said that although he has not given much thought to the episode, he admitted that the series was a huge learning experience for him, adding that as a young player, it was very difficult to go into his debut Ashes series.

Stating that he got a lot of advice from people, Bell further said that until a player has been through the experience, he never actually learns, adding that he was lucky to play against the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting as he learned a lot from playing against those great players.

Bell further said that the 2006/07 series gave him the opportunity to work and improve his game and also gave him a wake-up call, adding that it made him realise that he had to work hard if he wanted to make a life out of playing Test cricket.

In the seven years since that series, Bell has grown a reputation for producing when England need him most and has already made a century on the current Ashes tour - an impressive 115 against a Western Australian Chairman's XI in Perth, the report added.