Ian Bell says Test cricket is 'brutal environment'

Under-pressure England batsman Ian Bell has described Test cricket as a "brutal environment" ahead of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston - but says there is no reason he cannot return to form.
Bell has scored just 117 runs in his last six Tests at an average of 10.63.
"It's a brutal environment, international sport," Bell, 33, said. "You have to perform.
"I'm realistic enough to know that I haven't played to the best of my ability in the last two months."

"For me it's about performing," Bell told BBC Sport. "Whether you're batting three, four or five you've got to score hundreds and I'm looking forward to that challenge.
"I know that when I play at my best I'm a world-class cricketer.

Get your Groove back : come play against the west indies.

Great Gentleman's TEST cricket 

As easy as that. ::LOL::

Yeah lower wages when compared to the shorted form of the game in t20 and also one of the major reason for player injuries. Test cricket is not appealing to non-cricket fans and people no longer have the time to keep up with 5 days of cricket.

Then how do you explain the fact that every single day of the current Ashes series has been a complete sell-out with fans forking out between £95 and £165 a ticket?

Even though test cricket might be decreasing in popularity, I do not think that there is any lack of competition or quality in that format of the game. Its a format in which the bowlers are actually at par with the batsmen and Bell is just finding it hard to play against the current crop of bowlers the international cricket has to offer.

Agreed. Test cricket is without question the purest form of the game and the one format that still offers something for the bowlers. T20 and ODI cricket has been engineered to provide all of the advantages to the batsman and takes away the real challenge between bat and ball.