Bears face struggle after Bell's Ashes call; Bell call-up hits county.

Byline: Brian Halford

GOOD news for Ian Bell yesterday had a grim side-effect for Warwickshire as they approach a vital championship game against Sussex at Edgbaston, starting tomorrow.

The Bears will return to four-day cricket badly needing to restore some impetus after their thrashing by Durham two weeks ago dumped them in the bottom two of the First Division.

But while their bowling attack must contend without the departing Jeetan Patel, the top order also suffered a blow when Bell was included in England's squad for the First Ashes Test at Cardiff starting on Wednesday.

England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller has made it quite clear that the Warwickshire batsman has been called up purely as cover and will not play unless injury afflicts one of the batsmen who faced the Bears in the three-day friendly at Edgbaston last week.

So it is highly and frustratingly likely that Bell's bat and pads will remain idle all week while the Bears try to get their championship campaign going against a Sussex side one place and 12 points above them in the table.

Warwickshire's search for an overseas bowler, meanwhile, is in full throttle and they are frantically scouring the global market for a top-drawer paceman. In the meantime, their largely callow seam attack must try to shoulder the burden. In Patel's absence, the Bears have fingers crossed that Ant Botha will shrug off the knee niggle that kept himout of the England game. For them to take on Sussex with a struggling seam attack and no specialist spinner would put immense pressure on a top order which will be lacking Bell and has, after strong early-season form, been roughed up in recent weeks, first by Durham pair Graham Onions and Steve Harmison, and then England's James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff.