End Of Season Awards 2023: Live Blog
Keep up to date with the award winners from the 2023 Hampshire Cricket and Southern Vipers End of Season Awards
Lauren Katie Bell was born in Swindon, Wiltshire on 2nd January 2001, and made her county debut for Berkshire aged 14 in 2015, and was quickly nicknamed ‘The Shard’ because of her height.
She joined the Vipers in 2018 and has gone on to be one of the team's leading bowlers, using her pace and height to her advantage.
In December 2020, she was one of the 41 players to receive a full-time professional contract.
Bell was signed by the Southern Brave for the 2020 Hundred which was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but she was retained by the Brave and took 12 wickets, sixth most in the whole competition, at an average of under 16.
Across the 2021 Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy and Charlotte Edwards Cup, Bell took 14 wickets and received her first England call-up for the 2022 Women's Ashes in Australia, before she was named a travelling reserve in England's 2022 World Cup squad in New Zealand.
Bell played in six Charlotte Edwards Cup matches where she took five wickets, including best T20 match figures for the Southern Vipers against Lightning at The Ageas Bowl, as she took 3-12 in four overs in a day/night Charlotte Edwards Cup match, where she dismissed Marie Kelly (0), Sarah Bryce (1), and Tammy Beaumont (17).
Off the back of a strong start to the 2022 season, Bell was named in England's Test squad to play South Africa, and made her international debut on Monday 27th June when she took the wickets of Lizelle Lee and Marizanne Kapp.
She went on to make her international debut across all three formats, and, as of the end of the 2022 season, has four international wickets to her name.
Bell was subsequently awarded her first ECB central contract in November 2022 having impressed with the ball across her short international career to date.
Lauren Bell in Numbers:
Keep up to date with the award winners from the 2023 Hampshire Cricket and Southern Vipers End of Season Awards
Liam Dawson captains team of 2023 decided by PCA MVP Rankings
Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson has been rated the PCA’s Most Valuable Player of the Year