Vadodara, Jan 26 (IANS) Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fast bowler Lauren Bell said she is focused on taking a lot of confidence in terms of how she has gone in the entire tournament so far. Lauren has taken nine wickets in six games so far at an economy rate of 5.75 and has been a force to reckon with in power-play.
“I think sometimes maybe I get a bit angry. But even the other day, my coach called me and was like, ‘You’re at your best when you’re smiling,’ and I maybe lost my smile in the last game. I’m at my best when I’m smiling. I think obviously it’s very different.
“It might be a different opening partnership tonight, and it’s a different pitch. So there’s a lot to assess and probably a lot of differences from the first game. I guess I can take confidence from the whole tournament really, with how I’ve been going. Hopefully we’ll put on a good performance tonight,” said Lauren in a pre-game chat with broadcasters.
Asked on her preparation to bowl to Hayley Matthews, Nat Sciver-Brunt and Harmanpreet Kaur, Lauren said, “I’m not massive on the whole analytics and stuff. I obviously know these players, I’ve bowled at Hayley lots, Harman lots, Nat lots. I’m big on backing my own strengths and what I do well, and hopefully that’s good enough.”
Quizzed about her assessment of the nature of Vadodara pitch and her growing repertoire, Lauren said, “On this pitch, you’ve just got to hit the stumps and try to be as straight as possible. That’s a common theme for the batters as well. I’m not massive on that stuff, but I know their strengths. It was hard. Obviously at the time I was playing international cricket, so I was on the biggest stage while going through quite a big change.
“It was really tough, but I had some of the best coaches around me and I’ve still got great support. Technically, I think we’re there, but I’m still grooving it. I still want more consistency and there are still things to add,” she said.
Lauren also revealed she will bowl the inswinger when she feels confident about unleashing it. “I haven’t bowled an inswinger in about two years now, so hopefully at some point that will come back. There’s still so much to work on, and I love training, so hopefully I’ll just keep getting better.
“I want my best ball to be as consistent as possible first, that’s the outswinger. The inswinger is just another thing to add to the armoury when I feel ready and in the right place to push that on.
“There are so many parts of bowling, which is why it’s so exciting. There are always different things to learn. When I have time and a proper training period, maybe I’ll get back to it,” she concluded.
–IANS
nr/
