England batsman Ian Bell has saluted former batting coach Graham Gooch for laying the foundations for his 167-run knock against India in the third Test, which the hosts won to level the five-match series 1-1.
Bell, who had gone 20 Test innings without a century prior to last week's match at Southampton, revealed that a one-on-one session with Gooch in Edgbaston after the second Test was the secret behind his return to form.
Bell said that they have a really good set-up with England, but sometimes it is nice to have another set of eyes, Sport24 reported.
The Warwickshire player said that he used to have Neil Abberley at his county cricket club, someone one could chat through a few things with because they are not so attached to the game, there is less emotion involved, and it's nice to do that with Gooch, a net session with someone who can help him reconnect in a different way.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) released Gooch, who is England's all-time leading scorer in Test matches, in May but he continues to play an active role in Bell's preparations for matches.
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Bell said that the coach does one-on-one net sessions really well and added that Gooch never goes through the motions. He said that Gooch puts one under the pump, which is where a player is in a Test match.
Bell added that Gooch never gets over-complicated or technical. He said that it is about making sure that the player is in the right frame of mind.
The Warwickshire player said that as Gooch always says, one should always be looking to score runs, not just to survive. He added that generally he and Gooch are always exchanging text messages.
