KEY POINTS:
You know you're in the midst of a pretty special season when you knock off a test century and your first-class average for the season increases by a mere .48 of a run.
Special would be the only way to describe Matthew Bell's season. The Wellington right-hander has
transformed himself from a first-class journeyman and test cricket basket-case into New Zealand's first-choice opener for the rest of the season and, if current form is any guide, the next few years.
His innings yesterday was both simple and extraordinary: simple in that it contained few strokes that will live long in the memory; extraordinary in that it was the first time a New Zealand batsman had posted three figures in a test since James Franklin scored a century against South Africa in April 2006.
Although caveats do apply - this is against Bangladesh after all - it is fair to say he is the most convincing approximation of a test opener since Mark Richardson shuffled off the Adelaide Oval in 2004.
"It's a continuation of some good form for Wellington," Bell said. "I'm absolutely rapt I could do it out there today for New Zealand."
His only test century in part one of his career came against Pakistan, an attack that holds considerably more fear than this Bangladesh one, but Bell maintained the feeling was just as satisfying this time around.
His game is now based on simplicity. He has, by generous assessment, four attacking strokes: a push drive, a flick off the hip, a fierce pull and not so much a cut as a slide behind point. His footwork appears neat but not extravagant.
This is a far cry from the Matthew Bell that walked off the field at Hobart more than six years ago after making a painstaking four in 47 deliveries. Back then, he made batting look very complicated. He had developed a crablike, extreme front-on stance and each delivery was treated like a hand grenade.
He suffered the twin evils of shattered confidence and paralysis by analysis. Dropping him was the only humane thing to do.
As the years drifted on, it seemed increasingly unlikely that he'd don his black cap again. He stilled scored heavily at first-class level but was considered unable to take his game to the next level.
Something changed this year. He credits a lot of his newfound confidence to the mentor relationship he started by befriending international rugby referee Lyndon Bray. Bell decided he wanted to tap into Bray's expertise outside the rugby rulebook, which is personal coaching (in the mental rather than technical sense). It has been a profitable partnership.
"There are three key rules we work through, which can actually apply to anybody," Bray told the Herald on Sunday.
"Number one is 'act as if'. That is, understanding what you're trying to achieve and identifying the key attributes that make you successful at it. In Matthew's case it is determining what makes him a champion opener and acting like you're already there.
"Number two is 'self belief', having a positive mindset. It's about the language you use. A great example was the way Matthew spoke before the test, where he never said he was hoping for runs but that he was here and he was prepared and ready to score.
"Number three is to 'make it happen', identifying the key triggers that are absolute priorities in terms of you being successful."
If it all sounds simple, then that is the premise. Bell had become cluttered from a technical point of view and Bray said he learned to leave the technical stuff for the nets and, out on the pitch, switch to being tactical.
"That's the framework with which I've been working with him in the background," Bray said.
Bell has told him that this season he has felt "liberated" and is playing without fear. "Fear can be restrictive," Bray said, adding that it was a common trait he'd seen among New Zealand athletes.
The demons of doubt never leave permanently. Yesterday they seemed to kick in when Bell reached 97 and realised he was a decent nudge away from a storybook comeback.
"At times I was a bit anxious facing the spinner. I was thinking I could run down the wicket and hit a four or six to get there but in the end I had to pull myself back and be patient like I was for most of the innings."
He became marooned and should have been given out on 97 when he missed a straight one from part-time bowler Mohammad Ashraful. If the umpire was H. Eye rather than P. Parker, he would have been on his way.
But he survived to live for another 10 runs, not nearly enough by his own harsh assessment.
"That was the disappointing factor. I'm obviously chosen in the team to bat long periods of time and score big runs," Bell said. "While a hundred is nice, when you get there you want to make a pig of yourself and score big hundreds. That's what I've been doing domestically so it was a really disappointing way to end my innings."
