Lauren Bell: Being backed by the coach and captain is really the greatest feeling
Lauren Bell is determined to make hitting the stumps her go-to strategy. This applies to the remaining matches against Pakistan in the T20I series and the upcoming T20 World Cup in Bangladesh, where pitches are expected to be slow and low. Bell’s decision comes after a shaky start at Edgbaston on Saturday. Despite initial struggles, she finished with impressive bowling figures (3 for 22), contributing to England’s 53-run victory.
Lauren Bell hadn’t played competitively since England’s New Zealand tour in April. This lack of recent play showed in her first over, where she conceded boundaries and wides, giving away more runs than Pakistan had allowed in dismissing England’s top order.
Lauren Bell, however, bounced back brilliantly later in the powerplay. She dismissed Gull Feroza for 17 and then picked up another wicket in each of her next two overs. This helped England shut the door on any hopes of a Pakistan comeback.
Speaking before the second T20I in Northampton, Bell admitted England’s performance in the first game wasn’t perfect. But she stressed that it was their execution, not their plan, that was lacking.
Bell said that the fact that they were 11 for 4 and still got to 160 shows the depth in the team. Neither inning started the way they wanted them to start. But it just shows the depth and character of the team that they could come back and obviously, they still ended up winning by 50-odd runs.
Lauren Bell continued talking about the game saying that was her first game of the summer, so she was obviously a bit nervous and maybe a little bit rusty. She said that she had played a lot of cricket this winter, and when she came back from New Zealand, they felt her priority was to have a bit of extra rest. But there’s so much still to play, and she thinks she is really fortunate that she gets to play all three formats, so she just can’t play every possible game.
Talking about her coach, Jon Lewis, Bell added that the approach will never change, and she does not think the messaging will ever change, and taking the game on will always be Jon’s message and she does not think he’ll go away from that. That’s how they want to play and they are going to fail, probably, sometimes – but they are not going to go away from the way the team wants to play.
Coached by Lewis, Bell has blossomed into England’s bowling leader. This journey started last summer during the Ashes series. Across the multi-format matches, she impressed with 14 wickets, including crucial spells in the T20Is that helped England tie the series.
Bell says that the Ashes was a bit of a blur and she had one game which was a very steep learning experience. She adds that when she came out the back of it, she realized that she had a bit more responsibility in all three formats, and Heather Knight (the captain) was handing her the ball at quite important times so that gave her confidence.
She suggests that being backed by your captain and coach is the best feeling you can have when you go onto a cricket pitch, knowing that you have the support and the backing of everyone.
She says that Jon is really clear on what her role is, it will always be to top and tail the innings. Before he came in, she was obviously in and out of the team a lot and she feels like it’s really pushing her game forward and giving her a lot of confidence.
