Lauren Bell (cricketer)

Lauren Bell

Bell bowling for England in July 2023
Personal information
Full name	Lauren Katie Bell
Born	(2001-01-02) 2 January 2001 (age 24) Swindon, Wiltshire, England
Nickname	The Shard
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium
Role	Bowler
International information
National side	England
Test debut (cap 163)	27 June 2022 v South Africa
Last Test	14 December 2023 v India
ODI debut (cap 138)	15 July 2022 v South Africa
Last ODI	23 May 2024 v Pakistan
T20I debut (cap 57)	10 September 2022 v India
Last T20I	17 May 2024 v Pakistan
T20I shirt no.	63
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2015–present	Berkshire
2019	→ Middlesex (on loan)
2018–present	Southern Vipers
2021–present	Southern Brave
2023–present	UP Warriorz
2023/24–present	Sydney Thunder
Career statistics
Competition WTest WODI WT20I WLA Matches 3 8 14 53 Runs scored 9 12 – 228 Batting average 9.00 12.00 – 9.50 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 – 0/0 Top score 8 11* – 36 Balls bowled 468 408 294 2,337 Wickets 8 14 18 77 Bowling average 33.00 30.57 18.94 23.03 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 3/67 4/33 4/12 4/17 Catches/stumpings 1/– 5/– 2/– 11/–
Source: CricketArchive, 18 December 2023

Lauren Katie Bell (born 2 January 2001) is an English cricketer who plays for Berkshire, Southern Vipers, Southern Brave, UP Warriorz and Sydney Thunder. She has previously played for Middlesex in the Women's Twenty20 Cup. Bell made her international debut for the England women's cricket team in June 2022.

Personal and early life

Until the age of 16, Bell played football for Reading FC's Academy.[1]

Bell is nicknamed The Shard because of her height.[2][3] Her sister Colette has played for Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.[4] Bell was educated at Bradfield College in Berkshire.[5]

Domestic career

Bell has played for Hungerford Cricket Club, and was the first girl to play for the Bradfield College 1st XI.[3][6] In 2015, at the age of 14, Bell made her Women's County Championship debut for Berkshire.[2] She made eight appearances in the 2015 season, taking seven wickets.[2] In 2019, Berkshire loaned Bell to Middlesex for the Twenty20 Cup.[7]

In 2018, Bell made her debut for the Southern Vipers in the Women's Cricket Super League.[7][8] She played for the Vipers in the 2019 Women's Cricket Super League final, where they lost to Western Storm.[9] In 2020, she was included in the Vipers squad for the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy.[10] In December 2020, Bell was one of 41 women's cricketers given a full-time domestic cricket contract.[11]

Bell was signed for Southern Brave for The Hundred;[12][13] the 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Bell was retained by the Brave for the 2021 season.[14] In April 2022, she was bought by Southern Brave for the 2022 season of The Hundred.[15]

Bell signed for the UP Warriorz for the inaugural season of the Women's Premier League.[16]

International career

In 2019, Bell played for the England women's Academy against Australia A.[17] She was given an academy contract for the 2019–20 season.[17] In 2020, she was one of the 24 women chosen by England to begin training during the COVID-19 pandemic.[18] Bell was one of three uncapped players in the training squad; the others were Emma Lamb and Issy Wong.[19]

In December 2021, Bell was named in England's A squad for their tour to Australia, with the matches being played alongside the Women's Ashes.[20] In January 2022, during the tour, she was added to the full England squad for the one-off Test match.[21] In February 2022, she was named as one of two reserve players in England's team for the 2022 Women's Cricket World Cup in New Zealand.[22]

In June 2022, Bell was named in England's Women's Test squad for their one-off match against South Africa.[23] She made her Test debut on 27 June 2022, for England against South Africa.[24] On 2 July 2022, Bell was also named in England's Women's One Day International (WODI) squad for their matches against South Africa.[25] She made her WODI debut on 15 July 2022, also for England against South Africa.[26] In November 2022, Bell was awarded with her first England central contract.[27]

In 2023 Bell was named in the England squad for the Ashes against Australia. She played in the test match,[28] three T20I matches[29] and three One Day Internationals.[30]

She took her first five-wicket haul in WODIs for England against New Zealand on 3 July 2024.[31][32]

She was named in the England squad for the 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.[33]

Bell was named in England's squad for their multi-format tour to South Africa in November 2024.[34][35]

She was named in the England squad for the 2025 Women's Ashes series in Australia.[36][37]

References

1. "Generation Game - England's pace duo on the changing face of cricket". The Daily Telegraph. 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
2. "Breakthrough Bell tipped for the top". CricketHer. 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
3. "Lauren is ready for final showdown". Newbury Weekly News. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
4. "Colette Bell". CricketArchive. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
5. "Rising from the Ashes". Bradfield College. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
6. "The Bradfieldian – October 2018". The Bradfieldian. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
7. "Middlesex Women's 2019 Squad and Fixtures Announced Today". Middlesex County Cricket Club. Retrieved 23 April 2024.
8. "Southern Vipers announce squad for Kia Super League". Bournemouth Daily Echo. 15 July 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
9. "Bell proud of Vipers performances". Newbury Weekly News. 6 September 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
10. "Southern Vipers announce their squad for the Rachael Heyhoe-Flint Trophy". Women's CricZone. 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
11. "Forty-one female players sign full-time domestic contracts". England and Wales Cricket Board. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
12. "The Hundred: Women's squad lists". The Cricketer. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
13. "The Hundred: Women's teams announce domestic signings". Sky Sports. 23 January 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
14. "Southern Brave sign four key players for The Hundred". Chichester Observer. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
15. "The Hundred 2022: latest squads as Draft picks revealed". BBC Sport. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
16. "England keep their game-faces straight despite distractions of WPL auction". ESPNcricinfo. 13 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
17. "England academy squad: Lauren Bell & Issy Wong included for 2019-20". BBC Sport. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
18. "England Women confirm back to training plans". England and Wales Cricket Board. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
19. "England Women select squad for individual training at six venues from next week". Express & Star. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
20. "Heather Knight vows to 'fight fire with fire' during Women's Ashes". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
21. "Uncapped bowler Lauren Bell added to England squad for Ashes Test". The Cricketer. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
22. "Charlie Dean, Emma Lamb in England's ODI World Cup squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
23. "England v South Africa: Emma Lamb one of five uncapped players chosen". BBC Sport. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
24. "Only Test, Taunton, June 27 - 30, 2022, South Africa Women tour of England". Retrieved 27 June 2022.
25. "Alice Davidson-Richards, Issy Wong, Lauren Bell named in England ODI squad". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
26. "2nd ODI (D/N), Bristol, July 15, 2022, South Africa Women tour of England". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
27. "Six players earn first England Women Central Contract". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 2 November 2022.
28. "(Sky Sports)". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
29. "England beat Australia in T20 leg of Ashes - relive thrilling match". BBC Sport. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
30. Lemon, Geoff; Wallace, James (16 July 2023). "Australia retain Ashes as England fall three runs short in second ODI – as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
31. "Tears, drama and disagreements all worth it for Lauren Bell". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
32. "Bell leads England to ODI clean sweep over New Zealand". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
33. "England Women squad named for ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2024". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
34. "Uncapped Bouchier and Kemp in England Test squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
35. "England drop Alice Capsey for South Africa T20Is, include two uncapped players for Test match". Wisden. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
36. "England Women name squads for 2025 Women's Ashes". England and Wales Cricket Board. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
37. "Cross back as England name Women's Ashes squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 December 2024.

External links

• Lauren Bell at ESPNcricinfo
• Lauren Bell at CricketArchive (subscription required)