London, Aug22: Ian Bell scored his maiden double-century at the Oval enabling England to post a mammoth first innings score, batting a beleaguered India out of the game and series. Bell was presented with the Man-of-the-Match award for his magnificent effort as England won the final Test by an innings and eight runs and swept the series 4-0.

Bell spoke about his performance and England’s batting in a post-match media-conference.

Excerpts:

On batting at the No. 3 position

I’m back to No. 5 now for the next Test match but yes, I believe I’ve enjoyed the opportunity to step up and have a go. But we have got a good squad and that’s been our strength for a long time now.

On keeping Jonathon Trott’s seat warm

Yes definitely, we are a strong squad. We are both [in contention] - that’s the great thing we have got at the moment. But [I’ll be] back to [the No.] 5 [position] in the next Test.

On whether the position at which he bats matters to him

Not at all; it is just a matter of contributing to the winning matches or saving matches. I loved every moment of being part of this team and hopefully we can carry on winning Test matches.

On the internal competition in the team

It’s healthy. The guys have really pushed this forward and you have seen guys getting double-hundreds and to me that […] really set the standard. So it’s nice to contribute to this Test match and get a daddy hundred like Goochy [Graham Gooch] says.

On whether he has peaked as an international batsman

Yes, I think so. There’s still a lot of work to do and I’m desperate to improve. And I think it is the same for the rest of the guys; we are all looking to get better and better and hopefully we can do that.