Bell hoping to emulate 'summer Ashes heroics' in winter series in Oz

England batsman Ian Bell is hoping to emulate his summer heroics against Australia in the first leg of the back-to-back Ashes series and become the first man to retain the Compton-Miller medal.

England, which will kick of their winter tour against a Western Australia XI on Thursday, is determined to field a strong side and start with a win over the weakest opposition of the trip.

According to the Mirror, three centuries from Bell in the three England wins this summer was the difference between the two teams and they allowed the batsman to complete his own personal version of 'Botham's Ashes', the 1981 series that made Sir Ian Botham a star.

Bell said that he has been wanting to be named the man of the series in the Ashes and win the Compton-Miller medal since he watched 'Botham's Ashes' growing up as a young player, adding that he wants to carry on his performance in the summer into the return series in Australia.