As England Women remain in Oman, preparing to head over to India, Lauren Bell spoke to the media to preview England’s tour of India this December.
With a potential third Test cap on the cards, Bell is relishing the opportunity to put on the whites and play the rare format.
“We don't play it regionally, but we've got a bit of a training block where we can do some specific red ball stuff,” she said.
“I guess it's trying to make it as similar to our skills that we've have in white ball [cricket] and just transfer it over to red [ball]. It's massively different but we've got a bit of time to prep for it now and similarly in the summer.”
The 22-year-old seamer took three wickets in England’s Ashes test at Trent Bridge over the summer after making her senior debut in the format in 2022.
Having been part of the UP Warriorz’s squad in the inaugural Women’s Premier League last spring, bell is somewhat accustomed to the Indian conditions. However, after seeing the teams during the ICC Men’s World Cup struggle with cramp and the heat last month, it’s a daunting prospect to be playing Test cricket out there.
“I’ve been to India and I know there will be a lot of support. It'll be challenging physically, I've seen the [men’s] World Cup, it was very warm” she explained.
“We haven't actually got to Mumbai yet, we're still in Oman but when I was in Mumbai earlier on in the year, it was obviously my first time. I think the heat will be one of the big things that coming from England we'll have to cope with”.
Spending the past few weeks in Australia as part of the Sydney Thunder in the Women’s Big Bash League, Bell has enjoyed the warm weather and opportunity to play outdoors overseas.
“I had like the best time in Sydney. I love my Thunder team and I had really good training facilities in Australia. I got to train outside, I got to bowl against some of the best batters, I think it was really, really useful,” Bell said.
Only playing twice in the competition, Bell’s game time was limited but she had plenty of time to train ahead of this important series.
“I got pulled out for the tournament to come here and I was probably there for just about the right amount of time whilst I wasn't playing and then come onto this training camp, so I've had a pretty good build up into this series.”
Captaining the Sydney Thunder was a familiar face, Heather Knight, the England skipper. The Berkshire pair have spent time within the England set up together, now both playing franchise cricket for the same side.
“Me and Heather have worked really closely for a couple of years now and I guess it's always good to have that continuity” Bell explained.
“We get to know each other a bit better and obviously when you're an overseas [player] going abroad, you tend to stick with the other overseas. We're closer off the pitch now as well, which is nice.”
Lauren Bell has been named in Jon Lewis’ T20 and Test Match squads. England will face India in three IT20s, followed by a four-day Test Match. The fixtures can be found below:
Wednesday 6 December: India v England (1st IT20), Wankhede Stadium
Saturday 9 December: India v England (2nd IT20), Wankhede Stadium
Sunday 10 December: India v England (3rd IT20), Wankhede Stadium
Thursday 14 December - Sunday 17 December: Test match, DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai
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