England seamer Lauren Bell thinks this week’s Ashes opener against Australia may catch the nation’s emotions.
Bell made her international appearances in all three formats in 2022, but her red-ball debut at Taunton was unforgettable.
Bell’s first long-form match ended in a rain-affected tie, but she was anxious for more.
Both boards broke with convention to plan a fifth day and sold over 14,500 tickets at Trent Bridge, an Ashes site, for Thursday’s match against the world-beating Australians. Bell is eager.
“When I made my debut last year it was memorable for so many reasons but the thing that really stood out was just how special Test match cricket felt,” she told PA.
I didn’t realize how unique it was until then, and I felt blessed to be part of it.
“From the outside, I never realized how much fun, planning, and effort it took. I learnt more than ever in a week.
“It’s exciting to play at Trent Bridge this year, a big Test ground with lots of history, and we need to appreciate women’s cricket heading in the right direction and show how far we’ve come.”
Bell, a 6ft quick bowler, is not a coward.
“Beating Australia is our goal,”
We know they’ve been ahead of us for a while, but we’ve worked hard and are certain we can challenge them this year.
We must not fear failure. We can’t worry about making mistakes and what could happen.
“We’ll be confident, play to our strengths, and take positive options, just like in T20 cricket. We’ll play to win.”
England all-rounders Alice Capsey and Alice Davidson-Richards were dropped from the Test team. The two will join England A for Wednesday’s T20 against Australia A at Loughborough.
Capsey, a key member of England’s T20 and ODI squads, had hoped to play her maiden Test, while Davidson-Richards, who scored a century against South Africa in her sole Test innings, is not in the senior squad.