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ECB chiefs 'soften' stance on IPL ... Africa under pressure on day three of the first Test at Lord's.
A fine 199 from Ian Bell helped England to 593-8 declared in their first innings with the tourists 7-0 in reply.
Bell said: "We're here to get 20 wickets and it will be a great effort if we do.
"Hopefully our guys can pitch it in good areas on a good length and hopefully swing the ball on Saturday and put them under some pressure."
Bell, 26, admitted his exceptional knock could hardly have arrived at a better time: "Hopefully that can turn a corner for me.
"The best players in the world go on and get big hundreds. I wanted to go make a big impact in this series."
Despite finding an element of form in the recent Twenty20 match and one-day series against New Zealand, Bell's highest score in his last four Test innings was 21 not out.
He returned to his county, Warwickshire, and crafted a superb 215 in a four-day match against Gloucestershire on 1 July and has carried that form into the first of four Tests against South Africa.
"It's been a tricky month in the Test team so it's nice to get a good score today," said Bell, who had been singled out as the England batsmen the South Africans fear the most by former fast bowling great Allan Donald before the start of the series.
"I was pretty desperate after the one-dayers to go and play for Warwickshire and try to get as many runs as possible.
"I scored a double-hundred and it was a great way to prepare for this Test match. The weather has meant we didn't get outdoors much during the preparation and it was nice to spend time in the middle."
Bell shared a stand of 286 with Kevin Pietersen, who made 152, and then a 152-run partnership with Stuart Broad, who recorded a Test-best score of 76.
On day one, Bell started quickly before playing second fiddle as Pietersen raced towards his century.
"To bat with Kev is great and when he plays like that it's a pretty good spot to watch from," said Bell.
"It's difficult to match him, certainly when he's playing like that, so for me it's a matter of staying with him and building the partnership.
"We knew if we could get as big a score as possible in the first innings we'd be in a good position."
"If I had turned up at the game I would have taken 199 so I'm not too disappointed. It would have been great to score a double-hundred here at Lord's and get my name on the board but I'll take 199, certainly coming into this game.
South Africa coach Mickey Arthur hailed Bell's superb efforts.
Arthur, who highlighted Bell's form in the build-up to the match, joked: "I put the kiss of death on him didn't I?"
"We wanted to put him under pressure, and we gave him four half-volleys to kick-start his innings.
"That wasn't part of the script. But hats off to him, he came into the game under pressure and he delivered."
(BBC)
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