“Just because you’ve got experience, you’ve (still) got to be performing as well”

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England head coach Trevor Bayliss has hinted that batsman Ian Bell could be dropped if he fails to score runs on a consistent basis.

Bell has had a decent showing in the ongoing series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates as he has scored 118 runs at an average of 39.33.

However, Bayliss believes that Bell can do better, and said: “I think it’s a question most older players ask themselves when they’re getting closer to the end than the start – but he’s very much aware that performances are the thing that very much count.

“We need him from that experience point of view. But what I’m saying is – and everyone’s fully aware of it – that results count as well.”

While Bell brings a lot of experience to the Test team, Bayliss made it clear that just because he is a veteran batsman does not mean he will be immune from being dropped.

“Just because you’ve got experience, you’ve (still) got to be performing as well,” added Bayliss. “The players know that, and the selectors and coaches make their decisions based on performances at the top level.

“Obviously at the moment we haven’t got a lot of experience in the batting order, and I think it’s important we have got some experience in the team.

“On this tour, if you just take the aggregates and averages of our batters, he’s probably in third spot or round about – he’s averaging almost 40, I think.

“I’m sure he’d like to be scoring more runs as well – and he’s a guy who works very hard at his game.”