Hello! It's Ian Bell here. I always seem to be apologising for the length of time it takes me to remember to write again, but I'm not going to apologise this time - that's like the old Ian Bell. The old Ian Bell apologises for things, and says Zimbabwe is great, and gets overlooked for the Test side. The old Ian Bell is gone. The new Ian Bell - or Ian Bell 2.0, as I have been told to describe myself as - is strong, ruthless, powerful. It's great!

The other reason I haven't been writing is because I have finally been selected by a proper newspaper to write a column! You can read it by clicking here . It's a bit boring, unfortunately, and I've been getting a bit of stick in the dressing room from the usual suspects, mentioning no names (Paul Collingwood!!!). But it has to be boring, that's the thing. A nice journalist rings me up, and I say a few things about international cricket, and then he makes a column out of it, but first checking with the lawyers to make sure I haven't said anything I probably shouldn't say, mentioning no topics (Zimbabwe!!!). My Guardian column is read by literally hundreds of people, so we have to be very careful.

Fortunately such problems don't apply on here, so I can be a bit more frank and forthcoming. But hopefully the comments I receive won't be quite so nasty as those on my Guardian blog!

Anyway, before anyone asks, my back is much better thanks. Sadly it looks like Fred is going to miss out once again, so you'll probably see my name on the team sheet. It's funny, Colly has been joking and telling everyone that I have voodoo dolls of all the rest of the team, and that I use these to make sure my rivals for a Test place get nobbled so that I never get dropped! But he's only joking.

Next stop the third Test!

Hello from the West Indies! It's Ian Bell here. Sorry I didn't write during the Ashes Tour like I promised, I ran into some legal difficulties. And some cricketing difficulties too, come to think of it!

Playing against the best team in the world, in their own various back yards, is the ultimate test in Test cricket. But I learnt a lot about my game, my mind and my soul, and it was a vital experience which will hopefully stand me in good stead as I continue along my path towards (hopefully!) becoming an international cricket of genuine class and repute.

That's all behind us now, and now as a group of lads we're concentrating on one thing and one thing only: winning the World Cup for England! It's brilliant out here in the Caribbean, everyone's as friendly as you'd expect. But it's not all cans of Red Stripe and limbo competitions on the beach (I always win!). we know we've got a job to do against New Zealand tomorrow and hopefully we'll do it well. And with this in mind, me and my mate Liam Plunkett have been lecturing the rest of the squad on our ideas on bowling and batting (Liam did one on bowling, and I did one on batting). I think they picked on us as we're the cheeky young guns in the team and have been larking around a bit, but I think we both did pretty well.

I'm looking forward to when it's Paul Collingwood's turn to give a presentation - I can hardly understand what he's saying at the best of times! He's always trying to wind me up. But as I've said before, it's important to have a bit of banter between players. It keeps us on our toes and builds team spirit.

I've written loads! I'm off for a nets session. Remember to follow Liam Plunkett's blog on the bbc too - though it's no-where near as good as mine! Only joking mate.

I'll try to write again soon,

Ian Bell.

Hello everyone,

Well, time has been hurtling on, and now it's the calm before the storm. It's all happened so quickly.

Thanks for all the well-wishing. I practised long and hard today, and my wrist feels ok. I reckon I'll be 100% tomorrow. Wild horses wouldn't stop me from taking my place in the team, to be honest. I'm chomping at the bit to get started.

Sport is all about stories, and the Ashes is one of the greatest sporting stories on earth. There's been a lot written and said over the past few months, and it's got a little silly at times - Keith even forwarded me an article in the Guardian that compared me to American Psycho, which I thought was a bit harsh! I've definitely never murdered any prostitutes!

My own personal narrative for the series has been painted as a chance at redemption, a chance to prove the Aussie doubters wrong. But cricket is a team game, and if the series goes in a similar way as last summer - unlikely, but bear with me - then we'll have retained the Ashes. It's not about Ian Bell, it's not about personal glory. It's about the team. But of course, I'll be doing my best to help the team.

Off to bed now. Will (try to!) write again tomorrow!

Ian Bell.

Hello guys,

It's Ian Bell here - I'm just waiting for my taxi to the airport. I'm a bit dazed, as everything has been a bit whistle-stop and confusing - I've only just got used to English time after coming back from India, and now I'm heading off to Australia (for the Ashes!), which is in a completely different time zone too. By the time I arrive down under I'm not even going to be sure what day it is!

Thanks for all your emails and comments - everyone's been really supportive so far! As far as I know I'm the only person in the England team with an informal blog - everyone else has a contract with a newspaper or a website, even my mate Liam Plunkett. But I write this all by myself - it's completely off the cuff and unspun, if you pardon the cricketing pun!

I'm going to write a lot more often while I'm in Australia, because it's going to be a long and demanding tour and I don't really like darts. So this blog will hopefully become a nice little refuge to write about my experiences of what promises to be the biggest test of my sporting life so far. It's going to be amazing!

I'm still reeling from the shock of winning the ICC (which stands for International Cricket Council) emerging player of the year award. It was a really stiff field of competition - apart from Asif, who took some drugs and so probably wasn't allowed to win - and I'm really humbled to be recognised in such a way. Hopefully I can keep emerging this winter!

I'm off now - I don't want to miss the flight. And yes, I have packed my toothbrush!

Ian Bell. 

Hello from India! It's Ian Bell here, fresh from the shower and team talk after our exciting victory over The West Indies (set up, some would argue, by my near-chanceless half century!).

It's strange being in India - it's a lot different from England. It's quite odd, when you think about it, to come all this way just to play three matches - it's a bit like going to the moon just to play golf! But I'm glad to have got a few matches under my belt, and  - the cricket never stops - we're off to Australia on Friday, for the series that really matters. The big one. It's The Ashes! 

Hello guys!

It's a lazy Sunday and there's no cricket to be had, but that's ok because it's important to wind down and focus on things other than your job, although cricket hardly feels like a job because I love it so much! My wife is cooking a sunday roast, and later on my mate Liam Plunkett is coming over and we're going to play playstation.

He always wins!

Hello readers,

Even though the actual cricket has stopped for a while, the whirligig of activity never stops for an international cricketer. I've been busy doing lots of interviews about cricket, and more specifically the upcoming tour against Australia (I'm not scared!). I also was invited to have my say in the hearing of Pakistan's captain Inzamam Ul Haq. It has been decided that he is not a cheat, and I think it's good for cricket in general that we all draw a line in the sand under this and move on.

Most excitingly of all, I got involved in the 'urban cricket' initiative, which features lots of plastic bats and stumps with graffiti on being handed out to kids on street corners to try to encourage them to take up the game. I was flattered if surprised to be asked to get involved - after all, I'm more avenue than street! But I really enjoyed it, and hopefully programs like this will help to unearth the next generation of Ian Bells and Ashley Gileses.

In more personal news, I got recognised in the supermarket last week, and was asked for my autograph!

Ian Bell.