England opener Ian Bell admits young Australian paceman Mitchell Starc has his team's full attention going into Friday's Tri-Series ODI in Hobart.
Under fire from Shane Warne over his body language earlier in the summer, in-form leftarmer Starc has claimed 10 wickets in his last two Tri-Series games, proving a real handful with his combination of high pace and swing.
Bell knows the threat all too well, having been trapped lbw by a Starc off the first ball of the series the last time the teams met at the SCG.
"Starc is bowling well at the moment," Bell told reporters at Bellerive on Thursday.
"He swings the ball nicely and you've got to play him well."
The home side will be missing key players including George Bailey and David Warner - and Shane Watson is a doubt with hamstring tightness - but Bell doesn't think the reshuffle presents England with a free ride.
He hopes the visitors can replicate the form that delivered a nine-wicket victory against India at the Gabba on Tuesday.
"The other night we put a batting and bowling and fielding display all together for the first time for a while and it's about doing that again," he said.
"It doesn't matter what 11 Australia put out, we just want to put 100 overs of cricket together to the standard we did the other night in Brisbane."
Bell can't pinpoint what exactly inspired Tuesday's performance spike.
"We've been inconsistent over the last 12 months in one-day cricket," he said.
"Some days we've had good days with the ball and not so with the bat and then vice versa.
"I don't really know why we put it all together then but it's a good sign.
"If we start doing that more consistently, we're a dangerous side. In these conditions with the extra bounce, we will be very competitive."
Facing Australia's left-arm pacemen will be a focus for England's training ahead of Friday.
"Australia potentially have three left-arm seam bowlers so there's a lot of that goes in to your thinking going into the game," he said.
"We've played a lot against left-arm bowling over the past few years so it should be something we get right."
Bell, who made 88 not out from 91 on Tuesday, is also pleased with his form.
"It was nice to get that call to open the batting early in the tour and to start off well was exactly what I needed to do," he said.
Share
