Wellington opener Matthew Bell, who was recalled to the New Zealand Test side today after a season's absence, believes he is much better equipped mentally to cope with the demands of international cricket than he was when he was first selected at 21, three years ago.

Bell's recall capped a spectacular two day period in which he celebrated his 24th birthday, led Wellington to victory in the Shell Trophy - their first such success in 11 years - then learned of his selection on the same day for both New Zealand and New Zealand 'A'.

Those milestones and successes rounded off a season in which he captained Wellington for the first time and scored five Trophy centuries and three half centuries to become their leading run-scorer. He attributes much of his success to the re-evaluation he made of his career and his life when he took time off from the game during the last New Zealand winter.

Bell remembers, not fondly but without any lasting trauma, his first call-up for New Zealand in the 1998/99 season when he was still a very young man in cricket terms and still had a great deal to learn. His first two seasons of international cricket were far from successful and he ended with a record of 15 innings in eight Test appearances, a highest score of 83 and an average of 15.78 from an aggregate of 221 runs.

He was then a player very prone to nerves and to worry and as runs eluded him his very obvious anxiety increased, his difficulty at the crease became more apparent and his run of failure became more prolonged.

Bell does not wish that early exposure to Test cricket had never occured. He was proud to be selected and he believed he has learned the lessons of that first and difficult baptism.

But he believes he is now more ready, after the changes he has made in his life and in his game, to establish himself and make an impression in the Test arena.

"Obviously, this has been a big season for me, personally and for the team," Bell said. "The last two days have been just out of this world.

"It's been good to get my game together mentally more than anything. There are still a few technical issues to resolve but I'm pleased with where I'm at. I think all of that success comes from knowing Matthew Bell as a person and as a cricketer because you can't achieve anything if you don't know yourself.

"I had the last winter off, which made a big difference. I feel in that time I've grown up and I feel more mature. That's happened with the captaincy and picking up a few runs. That comes, also, with understanding myself and my game. If I make a mistake these days and get out it's not the end of the world as it used to be.

"I believe that in life when you have a setback you pick yourself off the floor and bounce back and the way you bounce back shows the character of he person."

Bell realises his new baptism will not be an easy one - he has an indelible impression of the strength and depth of the Pakistan bowling attack - but he feels ready to cope with any new hardships or setbacks.

"I've had a great few days but I'm ready to move on now and face new challenges. I realise I am going to have to work hard to be ready for the Test matches and to prove my selection is justified.

"I have to make amends for my failure last time and say I'm ready to go forward, show I'm ready to learn from my mistakes and that I'm a better person for it."

Nerves are still part of Bell's personality, his cricketing make-up but he believes he has learned to surmount them for his own good.

"It's fair to say I froze on occasions last time," he said. "My main problem was I was afraid to make a mistake and if I made one I couldn't get over it. This time that's not the case. If I play a bad shot and I get away with it, if I'm not out, I'm not going to fret on it. I'll get my head down again and go on. And if I'm out, so what? I hope there will be other innings when I do get some runs.

"The main thing is to know yourself and not to complicate things and I think I'm ready for my second chance."

© CricInfo