Bell says it's a shame England batsmen are not backing their bowlers

London, Mar 28(ANI): England middle order batsman Ian Bell has bewailed his team's miserable batting performances in Test cricket this year, as England was once again bowled for less than 200 in the their first innings against Sri Lanka in Galle Test.

England could only manage to score 193 in their first innings in reply to Sri Lanka 's 318, but their bowlers has kept the hopes alive in the first Test match.

"It's a real shame and it's not through lack of effort but it is disappointing not to back up our bowlers. We definitely let them down, no doubt. The bowlers will know it's not through a lack of preparation, sometimes it just happens like that," The Telegraph quoted Bell, as saying.

"Our bowlers have been outstanding again, for the fourth Test this year. What we wanted to do was to give those bowlers a good rest, a bit like we did in Australia. If you give them a day and a half relaxing they're going to come out [hard] again. In a way, we let them down not to give them that time," he added.

Bell, who top-scored with 52, believes England still had a chance but needed to improve against spin, as eight of the first-innings wickets fell to Rangana Herath and Suraj Randiv.

"We're all trying to get better at playing spin and we all know we have to get playing it in the subcontinent," said Bell.

"It's a long-term goal and it's not just going to happen overnight. The score doesn't lie: to get bowled out again for under 200 isn't great. As a unit, the batsmen are trying very hard and this game is still on. If we put on one good performance, this could still be a good Test match for England," he added. (ANI)