Former captain Nasser Hussain has urged Ian Bell to rediscover his best form to fire England into the knockout stages of the World Cup.

The 32-year-old has struggled in the opening three matches of the tournament as he scored 36 and eight respectively in heavy defeats against Australia and New Zealand.

Bell also made a scratchy half-century against Scotland, and Hussain feels that it is crucial for England's hopes that he starts to fire in the coming matches.

Hussain told the Daily Mail: "Ian Bell must be conscious that his 54 off 85 balls against Scotland is not going to help England win a quarter-final against India or South Africa.

"At the start of this tour, Bell was making big hundreds. There were failures, too, but England would prefer that to scratching around.

"They need him to crack on, not revert to his old trick of getting in, then getting out. If England are going to win a knockout match at a World Cup for the first time since 1992, they need to work out how they're going to beat the best — not just save face against the associate nations."

England are next in action against Sri Lanka at Wellington later today.