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AGEAS BOWL - England batsman Ian Bell said he hoped his match-winning century against West Indies would mark a turning point in his one-day international career.

Playing as an opener, Bell hit 126 as England beat West Indies by 114 runs in a rain-affected match at the Rose Bowl. “Today was my day and I really enjoyed it,” Bell told BBC Test Match Special.

“I’m a better player now than last time I was at the top of the order. Hopefully I can take my Test match form into one-day cricket now.”

Bell was dropped from the England one-day squad earlier this year after scoring only one century in 108 innings.

Recalled to open the batting following Kevin Pietersen’s retirement from limited-overs international cricket, he equalled his highest one-day score to lead England to 288-6 from their 50 overs.

In reply, the West Indies collapsed from 95-1 to 172 all out. It was a fantastic end to 24 hours of contrasting emotion for the Warwickshire man.

In the nets on Friday he pulled a ball onto his chin and had to go to hospital for stitches and an X-ray on his jaw.

“It had gone quite deep to the bone, and there were a few layers of stitches - and then the 10 [on the surface].

Once out in the middle, though, Bell had only one scare - on 23, when he admits he felt a thin edge behind only for umpire Richard Kettleborough to give him not out off Ravi Rampaul. It was a rare blip in an innings in which Bell played to his strengths on what was a good pitch.