England batsman Bell not ready to retire

London, Aug 28: England right-handed batsman Ian Bell on Friday said he still has the "hunger and desire" to play top-flight cricket.

Bell, 33, hinted he could quit cricket after winning the Ashes last week for the fifth time. But he has had a word with coach Trevor Bayliss and captain Alastair Cook and now is ready to play again.

"I was as honest as I could be. Deep down I probably knew I wasn't ready to call time on my Test career," Bell was quoted as saying by BBC.

Bell has featured in 115 Tests scoring 7,569 runs at an average of 43 with 22 centuries.

He managed only 215 runs at an average of 26.87 in the recently concluded five Ashes Tests against Australia.