Remodelled Bell adds extra pace and swing

When watching athletics we seldom cognize what is going connected down nan scenes.

Across formats, seamer Lauren Bell took an awesome 18 wickets successful 9 internationals during nan English summer.

She took 9 successful 8 during a much mediocre play successful The Hundred.

Throughout it all, nan 23-year-old has been grappling pinch nan very point a sportsperson tries to protect: Bell has been going done a painstaking remodelling of her action.

"The worst spot you tin beryllium arsenic a bowler is overthinking your method successful a game," she says successful a fascinating chat pinch nan BBC’s Tailenders podcast. "It is not a bully spot to be.

"You are going to attraction really you vessel and really you do but immoderate of those games I was going successful reasoning my attraction is technique.

"Because I was changing my method I had to deliberation astir it truthful overmuch because it wasn’t natural."

Bell first made her sanction successful nan inaugural play of The Hundred successful 2021. She was a gangly seamer pinch decent pace, who had an uncanny expertise to hoop an inswinger into a right-handed batter.

An world debut came nan pursuing summer.

But aft 2 awesome seasons astatine nan apical of nan women’s game, and aft England had drawn but not won nan Ashes, Bell decided she wanted more.

"I sat down pinch Mase [England women's fast-bowling coach Matt Mason] and Lewy [head coach Jon Lewis] and said 'how americium I going to push my crippled forward?'" Bell says.

It was decided nan very point that made Bell bully was really holding her back.

Her action allowed her to vessel that inswinger but nan measurement she fell to nan near successful her transportation stride made it all-but intolerable to plaything nan shot nan different way.

"I had backmost symptom rather a lot," says Bell.

"And secondly bowling inswing was my only action because I fell distant truthful much.

"We said to get amended I would for illustration much pace, much bounce and successful clip it would let maine entree to plaything nan shot some ways."

A determination to alteration was made but location were doubts astatine first.

"For a bully fewer months I would do a mates of convention and beryllium for illustration 'no I don’t want to alteration it'," Bell says.

"It took until I sewage backmost from New Zealand successful March to jump successful 2 feet."

There person been countless hours of drills pinch Mason distant from nan cameras. Lewis, himself a erstwhile bowling coach, has overseen nan changes.

"We did truthful overmuch method stuff," Bell says.

"What I person done is tried to get much upright by having 2 feet connected nan floor, dragging my backmost ft truthful it is not successful nan aerial and I autumn over."

Bell is not nan first bowler to spell done a reworking of his action.

James Anderson, England men’s astir successful Test bowler, famously did so. Mitchell Johnson did akin excessively arsenic he went from nan butt of Barmy Army jokes to Ashes destroyer.

Bell, though, has had to do truthful while playing an full English summer.

There has been occurrence but besides occasional difficult moments. In Bell’s 4 one-day internationals this summertime she bowled 17 wides.

"It is not an overnight hole which I person worked retired complete nan past six months," she says.

"Every clip I person a bully convention I dream I person sewage it and past I play a crippled aliases different convention and deliberation 'not rather yet'.

"My skillset is now different, wherever I put my wrist.

"Before I conscionable bowled and it would spell [swing] in.

"Now it is for illustration I americium for illustration a existent accelerated bowler. I person to take pinch my wrist which measurement I americium going to plaything it."

Bell is now successful nan United Arab Emirates, wherever England statesman their T20 World Cup run against Bangladesh connected Saturday.

After different artifact of training she believes she is successful a bully spot pinch her caller technique.

"I person sewage to a spot wherever I americium really happy pinch nan method worldly and I person realised conscionable because I person it [the outswinger] it doesn’t mean it is nan champion shot I americium capable to bowl," she says.

"Since I person learned it I person wanted to vessel it complete and complete again and show everyone I tin do it. I forgot nan full constituent of bowling is to publication conditions and players.

"I ended up forgetting each of those things and reasoning I americium going to vessel my away-swinger coming because I person conscionable bowled it really good successful training."