Lauren Bell, speaking to the Wisden Women's Cricket Weekly podcast, discussed what it's like to win the WPL, the ups and downs of changing her bowling action on the international stage, and her soaring social media following.
Bell was a leading part of RCB's WPL-winning side, taking 12 wickets during the tournament at an economy rate of 5.52 runs per over – the best of any bowler with more than two wickets. She bowled 128 dot balls during the tournament, and in the final returned figures of 0-19 off her four overs, the most economical of any bowler in the match. After RCB sealed their victory, captain Smriti Mandhana praised her spell as "match-winning"'.
"Before I went out there I couldn’t have told you that it would go the way it did," Bell said. "I hadn’t really spoken to the head coach before I got there, and I hadn’t spoken about my role. Even the first few days of being out there, I wasn’t 100 per cent sure I was going to play... Cricket is a funny one. You can go in with a big role but you have to bowl well to keep that."
Despite having been bought by UP Warriorz in the inaugural WPL auction, Bell hadn't made her debut before this year's competition. Having pulled out of the tournament in 2024 due to a clash with her international duties, a period of re-modelling her action forced Bell to re-evaluate her on-field performance.
"I’ve felt really good now, probably since the Ashes in Australia I’ve felt in a really good place with my bowling," says Bell. "But the one thing I’ve always felt like we could work on was getting the consistency with the new ball. I had the ability to bowl some really good wicket-taking balls but I probably didn’t do it enough. Especially, that was highlighted at the end of the World Cup in India, I really wanted to be more consistent with the new ball.
"The stuff that goes on behind the scenes, you don’t see. I’m always super happy and I’m chilled a lot of the time. I'm pretty optimistic but I remember really vividly a game in Durham. It was an ODI and I only bowled three overs and I went for about 35 and that was the end of my day. I remember at the end of that being like ‘what have I done? This sucks’."
The changes Bell has made to her action, in part to prevent injury, have allowed her to become one of the best powerplay bowlers in the world. Having relied on big, hooping inswingers for the first part of her professional career, she now has the ability to move the ball both ways, a rarity in the women's international game.
Bell also expanded on the massive growth in her social media following during the WPL. Having started the year with 800,000 Instagram followers, she gained one million during the first week of the tournament, and now has 2.3 million in total. She is the third most followed English cricketer on Instagram – only Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes are above her – with more followers than Joe Root and Jofra Archer combined.
"They [RCB] have such passionate fans and I guess my personality and what I post on socials, I just felt really supported," said Bell. "But it is crazy. I remember when I first got out there and I got to a million in the first week, I was like ‘how are one million people following me on Instagram?’ I’m definitely not used to it, I still post like I’ve got 10 of my friends on it. But I guess that’s part of it and why people follow me.
"I don’t think about it too much but I do find it crazy that I’ve got two million people following what I’m up to."
You can listen to Wisden Women's Cricket Weekly podcast on Spotify, Apple podcasts and all other podcast providers. Watch the full episode on the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel.
Image credit – Instagram (l.belll_)
