Ian Bell plans to play for England on 2017/8 Ashes tour
Tuesday 29 September 2015 16:54, UK
Ian Bell is targeting the 2017/8 Ashes tour after briefly flirting with the idea of Test retirement.
The England batsman played all five Tests against Australia this summer despite question marks over his place after a heavy defeat at Lord's.
Bell survived and, in his seventh Ashes series, went on to become just the third Englishmen to win the urn five times.
That achievement did not stop the 33-year-old "taking stock" of his future in the aftermath of last month's fifth Test at The Oval, but any inclination to quit has now passed, helped by a chat with captain Alastair Cook.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "At the end of any Ashes series, you're mentally and physically knackered. So it took me a week or so to go away and think about what I wanted to do going forward.
"Cooky was really important in that because obviously I have played a lot of cricket with him, and to speak to him a little bit about his vision for the team going forward really helped.
"I have made the right choice in deciding to no longer play one-day cricket and I just want to focus now on playing Test cricket with this group.
"We've got a really talented bunch of players - an exciting blend of the more experienced guys who have broken records, mixed with the young guys coming through - and I want to be a part of that over the next couple of years.
"I want to play as long as I possibly can. I love playing for England, it's an absolute honour to do that every day."
Speaking to the Daily Mirror, Bell also said: "There's no denying, a lot of different thoughts went through my mind at the end of the Ashes and you do question whether it is time to walk away and move on. But I knew this wasn't that time.
"When I thought about it clearly I knew I had more to give and wouldn't have forgiven myself for stopping when the appetite was still there to score runs for England.
"I want to be on the plane to the next Ashes series. I'm desperate to have another crack at the Aussies and be part of a team that wins out there again. That is the goal."
England head for Australia in November 2017 for a series which includes five Tests, five one-day internationals and three T20s.
