London: England batsman Ian Bell believes Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene’s appointment as a consultant will surely help improve England’s record on the sub-continent.

Jayawardene will join England’s tour to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the Test series against Pakistan next month.

Bell, 33, described the appointment as “brilliant” and said he would “badger” the newly-retired batsman for advice, bbc.co.uk reported on Wednesday.

“The one thing we need to do is get better on the subcontinent, and he’s (Jayawardene) one of the best ever,” he said.

Jayawardene, 38, scored 11,814 runs in 149 Tests and 12,650 runs in 448 One-Day Internationals.

“To have his input leading into the series, and all the preparation, is going to be huge for us. I’m really looking forward to that,” Bell said.

“He was certainly hard to get out in those conditions, so I’ll be picking his brain all the way through if I can, probably badgering him a bit too much, but trying to get everything I can out of him to make my game better,” the right handed batsman said.

England lost 0-3 to Pakistan in the UAE in 2012, but Bell believes they are better equipped this time and said either Alex Hales or Moeen Ali could open the batting.

“Experience tells me in the UAE you have to be flexible, you have to go for a different style of cricket,” he said.