Out-of-favour England batsman Ian Bell notched up a significant milestone on Thursday (August 30) as he crossed the landmark of 20,000 first-class career runs.

Playing for Warwickshire in Division 2 of the County Championship, Bell scored 204 against Glamorgan to help his team reach 445/8 at stumps on Day 2. Sam Hain, who hit 61, was the only other Warwickshire batsman to cross 50 but they were able to build a 242-run lead on the back of Bell's brilliance.

Earlier, Glamorgan were bundled out for 203 runs with Olly Stone and Jeetan Patel claiming four and three wickets respectively.

Here’s the clip of Ian Bell’s masterful knock:

"Hundreds are good, but big 'daddy 100s' as Graham Gooch called them are the ones that win games of cricket. It was nice to go through, get a big 100 for the team and that puts us in a good place,” Bell told BBC.

Considering the struggle of England top-order in the ongoing Test series against India, there is a murmur going on in the English media concerning Ian Bell’s comeback. However, the stylish right-hander isn’t thinking only about the national call-up.  

"Thinking of an England recall isn't anything I'm carrying into this game, but right now I'm happy. I'm playing well, I'm moving well and enjoying my cricket and the expectation and drive is here. Who knows what the next 12 months holds? If England call I'm sure I'll answer the phone," he added.

Bell, 36, hasn’t played Test cricket for England since November 2015. He has been in superb form this season, scoring 871 runs in 10 first-class matches at an average of above 62. In 118 Tests for England, Bell has scored 7727 runs at 42.69 with 22 tons and 46 fifties.