Bell rings last orders on Warwickshire captaincy

Former England batting great Ian Bell has taken the drastic step of resigning as Warwickshire captain in order to resolve his lack of runs. The 35-year-old — who played the last of his 118 Tests against Pakistan in 2015 — has failed to sparkle with the bat this term as Warwickshire have been mired in a relegation battle from the top tier of the county championship.Bell, who is averaging just 24.64 this season, will be replaced by another former star of the England batting line-up Jonathan Trott for the final five matches of the championship. “It’s been an absolute honour to lead my home county over the last 18 months and my decision to stand down is something that I have thought long and hard about over a period of weeks,” said Bell, who captained them to a one day trophy last year.“This is the right time for me to stand down as captain, to focus on my batting and scoring runs, which will be the best thing for the team. As a senior player, I will support the team in all ways possible and I believe that our squad has very exciting times ahead.”Bell, whose lack of form led to him being dropped from their T20 side the Birmingham Bears, has scored just one century since the beginning of last season. “It’s very brave of Ian to make this decision, but one that we fully respect,” said Ashley Giles, Warwickshire’s sports director and a former England and county team-mate of Bell’s.“Having him focused solely on scoring runs for Warwickshire and Birmingham Bears is a huge asset to the club. The team has gone through a transformation period and Ian has been instrumental during this time, leading the team to a trophy at the end of 2016 and helping bring through several of our younger players in recent months, during a difficult period.”Warwickshire face a real battle to avoid the drop as they presently lie bottom of the table 31 points adrift of safety.West Indies’ Brathwaite reported for suspect bowling action West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite has been reported for a suspect bowling action during an innings and 209-run defeat by England in the first Test at Edgbaston. Primarily an opening batsman, occasional off-spinner Brathwaite bowled just six wicketless overs for six runs as England surged to a thumping win inside three days in Birmingham on Saturday.“The match officials’ report, which was handed over to the Windies’ team management, cited concerns about the legality of the 24-year-old’s bowling action,” said an International Cricket Council (ICC) statement issued. Brathwaite remains free to bowl in international cricket ahead of the results of a test on his action, which must take place within a fortnight, according to ICC regulations. That means he could bowl when the West Indies bid to level the three-match series in the second Test at Headingley starting Friday. The 24-year-old has taken 12 wickets in his 38-Test career, with half of those coming in a single haul of six for 29 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in October 2015.