Lauren Bell: Crafting the Perfect Swing - The Story Behind a Seam Bowler's Evolution

United Arab Emirates: Behind every successful athlete is a story of perseverance and evolution. For England seamer Lauren Bell, the summer of 2023 wasn’t just about taking wickets and winning games. It was about redefining herself as a cricketer, both physically and mentally. The 23-year-old's story provides a rare glimpse into the painstaking journey of a sportsperson trying to evolve while staying on top of her game.

Across formats, Bell took an impressive 18 wickets in nine internationals during the English summer. But what most spectators didn't know was that, at the same time, she was completely reworking her bowling action—a challenge few players undertake mid-career, let alone during an international season.

"The worst place you can be as a bowler is overthinking your technique in a game," Bell shared in an interview with the BBC’s Tailenders podcast. "Because I was changing my technique, I had to think about it so much because it wasn’t natural."

Having burst onto the scene in 2021 during the inaugural season of The Hundred, Bell quickly established herself as a rising star in English cricket. Known for her height, pace, and her impressive ability to hoop the ball into right-handed batters, she soon found herself making her international debut in the summer of 2022.

However, after two impressive seasons at the top level, Bell decided she wanted to take her game further. In collaboration with England women's fast-bowling coach Matt Mason and head coach Jon Lewis, Bell chose to take the difficult road—remodeling her action to unlock a broader skill set.

Her original action allowed her to bowl a consistent inswinger, but it came with limitations. Falling away to the left during her delivery stride restricted her from swinging the ball the other way and also resulted in recurrent back pain.

"I had back pain quite a lot," she revealed. "And secondly, bowling inswing was my only option because I fell away so much. We said to get better I would like more pace, more bounce, and in time it would allow me access to swing the ball both ways."

But, as with any significant change, it wasn't easy. Initially, Bell struggled to commit fully to the changes. "For a good few months I would do a couple of sessions and be like 'no, I don’t want to change it'," she admitted. It wasn’t until March, after a tour of New Zealand, that she decided to "jump in with two feet."

The transformation involved countless hours of technical drills with Mason and Lewis, both of whom oversaw every detail of the new action. The goal was to achieve more balance in her delivery stride by keeping her back foot grounded, allowing her to stay upright and improve her consistency.

"We did so much technical stuff," Bell said. "What I have done is tried to get more upright by having two feet on the floor, dragging my back foot so it is not in the air and I fall over."

Bell’s journey mirrors those of some of the game’s greats—James Anderson and Mitchell Johnson both famously overhauled their actions to reach new heights. But unlike them, Bell was reworking her action while playing a full international summer, which brought inevitable challenges. In her four one-day internationals this summer, she bowled 17 wides, highlighting the difficulties of trying to implement technical changes under the pressure of competition.

"It is not an overnight fix, which I have worked out over the last six months," Bell said. "Every time I have a good session I hope I have got it, and then I play a game or another session and think 'not quite yet.'"

But there has also been progress. Bell's new action now allows her to swing the ball both ways, giving her more options. "My skillset is now different, where I put my wrist. Before, I just bowled and it would go [swing] in. Now it’s like I’m a real fast bowler. I have to choose with my wrist which way I’m going to swing it."

As Bell joins her England teammates in the United Arab Emirates for the T20 World Cup, where they face Bangladesh in their opening game on Saturday, she feels optimistic. After another block of intense training, she believes she has finally found her rhythm.

"I have got to a place where I am really happy with the technical stuff," she said. "Since I have learned it, I have wanted to bowl it over and over again and show everyone I can do it. I forgot the whole point of bowling is to read conditions and players."

Bell’s journey is a testament to her determination to not just be good, but to be great. It’s a reminder of the mental and physical challenges that lie beneath the surface of elite sport. While fans often see only the runs and wickets, it’s the stories like Bell’s—the battles behind the scenes—that truly define a player's career.