Paul Collingwood believes that Ian Bell will go on to "amass a huge total" after overtaking him as England's leading one-day international run scorer.
Bell's 141 in the three-wicket defeat to Australia in Hobart on Friday took him to 5,136 runs in the 50-over format and beyond Collingwood's tally of 5,092 runs.
Former ODI captain Collingwood insists that there is plenty to come from his one-time teammate and feels that the 32-year-old's timely return to form bodes very well for England's World Cup hopes.
"I'm sure there will be plenty more hundreds and he'll amass a huge total of one-day runs," he told BBC Sport. "He's helped make England's batting line-up their strongest of the last three World Cups.
"The runs have come at the right time for him. His form has hit a real purple patch just a few months after he must have wondered if he would go to the World Cup. Now his form has guaranteed him to open the batting all the way through the World Cup and that is fantastic.
"He has come out and proved he can do the job at the top of the order. It seems the harder and newer the ball, the better he plays. It is a great sign for England because he can get the big totals and if England are to win they need totals of 300-plus."
Bell has played 153 ODIs - 44 fewer than Collingwood played prior to his international retirement in 2011.
Joe Fish
