That's correct. I first posted on 22 Jan 2012, immediately after the First Test in the UAE. I said that Bell would average less than 20 in the series to general incredulity.
Almost amazing to recall now, but that was the apogee of the false adulation for Bell, not just as a world class batsman - which I inconveniently pointed out that he has never been, at any point in his career -, but as a nailed on fixture in any credible top 10 list, with some lunatics even making him number one.
For instance, "Marcuss" responded to my initial posts with the following insightful evaluation of the sherminator: "Been the best batsman in the world for just over a year tbh". marc71178 accused me of spouting "utter codswallop". GingerFurball described my comments as "stupid" and when I wrote that "For me Bell against an attack like this is a 15-20 average man" and made my famous prediction that he would average less than 20 for the rest of the series - i.e. that, not even including his First Test failure, he would continue to perform just as cluelessly -, the same poster did that juvenile thing which some regular posters on this site have a habit of doing of posting some moronic clip from a US TV programme in order to ridicule the guy he is arguing against. In this case it was of a guy wearing a stethoscope - presumably a doctor, then ;-) - spitting out a cup of coffee or whatever.
Other annoying clips and still images were posted by a variety of clueless posters to ridicule me - because of course they could not refute my logic. The clips - and no doubt the programmes from which they were extracted - are now a distant memory for most, but my correct predictions are still there for anyone to check starting on page 214 of the UAE series thread.
Jacknife described my comments as "gash", to which I responded: "I look forward to reading a lot of "gash" from you and other subscribers to the myth of Bell as a top class bat when this series is over and as I predict he ends up with a lower average than any of the specialist batsmen, Prior, Broad and Swann also". Pretty cool, eh - although I unaccountably left out Anderson from my list!
Even in ancillary matters I was pretty much spot on. For instance I correctly predicted that it was not only Ajmal, but also Gul who would be giving Bell fits in the UAE series, to which a genius named amanuensis - who has I see now re-emerged from the woodwork, presumably in the hope that we've forgotten his previous stupidities - replied "Gul isn't a particularly good test bowler. His strength lies in limited overs cricket, so I don't see the relevance of your argument". Our friend the Furball weighed in with his usual insightfulness "he's a fairly average Test bowler". That worked out well for you guys, didn't it? I mean, Gul only took a goodly number of England top order wickets at critical moments in the series at a low twenties average and with a healthy strike rate, and he only looked, after Broad, the most penetrating pace bowler on view? (Not that I didn't slap them down at the time: "As for the person who dismissed Gul as merely an ODI bowler, mate, you simply don't know what you're talking about. Gul is one of the very best in the world at exploiting these sorts of conditions in Tests....." etc)
Pietersen I gave as much stick as Bell right from the get go, pointing out that all his technical tinkerings have meant that he fundamentally does not any longer know how to go about scoring runs against good quality bowling, that he is basically washed up both mentally and seemingly technically, and that this mixture of technical and mental problems is brought into focus even more by decent slow bowling on SC-type surfaces, with the net result that he - who, unlike Bell, had at least once been a very good player - was now in the same sub-20 average bracket.
So you guys have to deal with someone who after the very first Test in the UAE correctly predicted that both Bell and Pietersen would average less than 20 in the remainder of that series and would if picked for the SL Tests continue to perform miserably, and who on that basis was calling for them to be replaced even then. How have I done?
It seems rather well, no? Everything I wrote about those two has since come true. Whenever I have been wrong about some detail I - unlike some on this forum - have been happy to hold my hands up and own up to it, because for me it's not about ego or being right all the time; it's rather about finding out the truth and coming to terms with it no matter how tough it is or how much it militates against one's own affections or affiliations.
Would that others on these boards shared my ideals and stopped clinging to old affections which have no basis in logic or current performance.
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