Derbyshire appoint Ian bell as their batting consultant
Former England batter Ian Bell has been appointed as the batting coach for Derbyshire. Bell has replaced Mal Love who earlier headed the position. He will be working alongside Derbyshire's Head of cricket Mickey Arthur and Bowling Coach Ajmal Shahzad. In his cricketing days, Bell had won two County Championships with Warwickshire. He scored over 20,000 runs in FC cricket. Here are more details.
Why does this story matter?
Derbyshire were on the verge of finishing last in the previous edition of the County Championship. Batting proved to be their major hurdle last season. Bell's enormous experience in international cricket could aid Derbyshire in this regard. He has also worked closely with England U-19 in 2019-20. Add to that, he has had coaching stints with Birmingham Phoenix (The Hundred), and Hobart Hurricanes (BBL).
Bell's statement on joining Derbyshire
"As a young coach, the opportunity to learn from one of the biggest names in the game was massive. Mickey has big plans for the future of Derbyshire, and I'm really excited to be a part of it for the next couple of months," said Bell in a statement to DCCC. Mickey Arther added that Bell's arrival boosts their batting standards for this season.
A look at Bell's international career in numbers
Bell made 118 Test appearances for England. He amassed 7,727 runs at an average of 42.69. He struck 22 centuries and 46 half-centuries. He slammed his career-best score of 235 against India in 2011. In ODIs, he aggregated 5,416 runs in 161 matches at 37.87. He pinned down four hundreds and 35 fifties. Across 8 T20Is, he compiled 188 runs at 26.85.
Derbyshire's schedule for the impending domestic season
Derbyshire will kickstart their County season on April 7. Post the County matches, Derbyshire would be involved in 14 matches for the Vitality T20 Blast slated to start on May 27. They will also be involved in five Royal London One-Day Cup games starting August 2. In between the T20s and One-Dayers, they would be competing in five more County matches.
