Lauren Bell, a young and promising fast bowler, has made a substantial contribution to the English women’s cricket team. Her speed and accuracy have earned her a reputation as one of the most exciting talents in the sport.

Let’s have a look at some key points of Lauren Bell:

Age: 23

Role: Fast bowler  

Batting Style: Right-handed  

Bowling Style: Right-arm fast-medium  

Teams: England, Southern Vipers, Southern Brave, UP Warriors, Sydney Thunder

Why Lauren Bell is considered to be the future star of England? 

Lauren Bell established herself as ‘the young potential fast bowler’ in 2019 when in the semi-finals of the Kia Super League she was able to portray such a good bounce and swing along with maintaining a sheer pace which helped the Southern Vipers to win the match against Loughborough Lightning. 

Lauren trained with the senior team of England and found time to pick up seven wickets for the Southern Vipers in 4 appearances to help achieve success in the Raechel Heyhoe Flint Trophy. 

The unique skills that set her apart and show her potential are: 

Pace and Accuracy: Bell’s ability to consistently bowl at a high speed, combined with her accuracy, makes her a formidable opponent.  

Swing Bowling: She is skilled at swinging the ball both ways, making it difficult for batsmen to score runs.

Potential for Greatness: With her talent and dedication, Bell has the potential to become one of the greatest fast bowlers in English women’s cricket history. (right now Shabnim Ismail of South Africa holds the record for bowling the fastest delivery in women’s cricket. However, Ellyse Perry was the first woman to cross the 130kmph mark in women’s cricket.)

Lauren Bell’s performance across all the formats has been amazing and she has always proved to be the next big thing for England as a pacer. She made her international debut in 2022, in the Test format she has played 3 matches against mighty rivals- India, South Africa, and Australia. and took 8 wickets in total. 

 In ODIs, she has made 14 appearances in which she was able to grab 27 runs which includes one fiver already. In the T20i format, she has played a total of 23 matches for England and took 32 wickets with a career economy of 6.94 and an impressive average of 17.21. 

Lauren Bell gave an outstanding performance in the Hundred league for Southern Brave where she took 4 crucial wickets against Northern Superchargers and defended 7 runs in the final 5 balls of the game ending with an impressive bowling figure of 4/11.

Lauren’s most recent international appearance was on July 17th, in a T20 format match against Australia, she took three wickets in that match which helped England to secure a win of 20 runs. Bell has also been successful at the domestic level, playing for teams like Southern Vipers and Southern Brave in the English domestic leagues.  

ALSO READ: County Cricket: Everything To Know About County Tournaments

County Cricket is from England, where cricket was born. The domestic format of cricket is known as a county cricket for them. The format and history of cricket in England are around 500 years old. 

The County Cricket tournaments 

Vitality County Championship – This tournament is running its 124th edition currently in 2024. It has 18 teams competing against each other, all teams are named after the cities in England and Wales. It became official in 1890, though the first first of inter-county match is known to have been conducted in 1709.

The format of the Vitality County Championship is first class (4 days) teams battle it out over multiple rounds to secure the coveted title. The tournament is divided into two divisions with home and away fixtures. 

The Championship is renowned for its rich history, intense rivalries, and the opportunity for players to showcase their skills at the highest level of domestic cricket. The most successful team in County Championship is Yorkshire with 32 titles and 1 shared. 

It serves as a breeding ground for future England internationals and a platform for established players to maintain their form. The competition is named after its sponsor, Vitality, a health and wellness company.

T20 Vitality Blast – This was the first T20 format tournament of county cricket from England and Wales which was proposed by the marketing manager of ECB to the country chairmen in 2001. The voting got in the favour of this format with 11-7 and the tournament’s first edition of tournament commenced in 2003. 

It was first known as Twenty 20 Cup from 2003-09,  the Friends Provident t20 and Friends Life t20 from 2010 to 2013, and the Natwest t20 Blast from 2014 to 2017. The insurance company Vitality sponsored the tournament and since 2018 has been known as the Vitality Blast. 

The most successful teams of this tournament are Leicestershire Foxes and Hampshire Foxes with 3 titles each. There are two groups in this tournament each containing 9 teams in totality. 

Metro One Day Cup – This county cricket tournament was commenced in 2014 to replace the ECB 40-over tournament which ran from 2010 to 2013. The Metro One Day Cup is known for its exciting matches, high-scoring encounters, and the opportunity for players to showcase their skills in a shorter format of the game. 

It is a popular tournament among fans and players alike, and it often serves as a platform for emerging talent to make their mark on the cricket scene. The tournament’s current champion is Leicestershire Foxes in 2023. 

Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy – It is a tournament of 50 overs format which was commenced in 2020. It was named after a former English cricketer Rachel Heyhoe Flint who died in 2017. It’s an English and Welsh women’s cricket domestic competition. There are a total of 8 teams who compete against each other for the title. 

The Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy is a women’s cricket tournament in England and Wales. Teams play four-day matches to win the trophy. It’s the biggest women’s cricket league in England and Wales, where players can show their skills and try to play for the national team. The trophy has helped women’s cricket grow in England and Wales

Charlotte Edwards Cup – This County Cricket tournament commenced in 2021 and follows the T20 format. It is a women’s T20 format domestic tournament that was named after England’s former captain and most capped player Charlotte Edwards. 

This County Cricket tournament also has 8 teams to compete against each other with current champion The Blaze and the most successful team in the tournament Southern Vipers. With 2 titles. The first edition of this tournament was won by South East Stars. 

The Hundred – It is a new County Cricket competition in England and Wales, commenced in 2021. It is a 100-ball format, where each team bats for a maximum of 100 balls. The Hundred aims to attract new fans to cricket and provide a more accessible and exciting format of the game.

 It features eight teams, each representing a different region in England and Wales. The Hundred has been praised for its innovative approach and has attracted significant interest from fans and players alike. 

The bowler is allowed to bowl a maximum of 20 balls and over consist of 5 balls which a bowler can consecutively bowl twice. The current champions of the tournament were London Spirit who defeated Oval Invincibles in the finals of the 2024 season. Oval Invincibles are also the most successful team in this County Cricket tournament with two title wins. 

ALSO READ: 5 Spin Variations & Tips in Cricket

In this article, we will examine the highly rated overseas players in The Hundred League Women.

The Hundred League just ended on August 18, in which Oval Invincibles from the Men’s League won the title and London Spirits from the Women’s League. The league was a total roller coaster ride, and many entertaining moments were created during the span of this tournament. 

Along with the native players, there were some overseas superstars as well who added spice to the tournament and made it enticing for the audience. 

Let’s have a look at those enticing overseas players of the tournament.

Georgia Redmayne

The Australian wicketkeeper batter managed to make 229 runs in the Hundred League. She was the 3rd highest scorer of the tournament with an average of 28.62, played for the London Spirits, and was the player of the match in the finals of the league against Welsh Fire. She made 34 out of 32 balls and helped the team chase 116 runs to win the match and title of the tournament. 

Deepti Sharma 

An Indian all-rounder who played for the London Spirits managed to be the 7th highest run scorer with 212 runs in total out of 6 innings, where she had the outstanding stat of not being out of the fast-paced format where players start hitting and taking risks from the first ball they face. She gave so many absolute wonder performances, which include 16 runs not out in the finals, where she played sensibly to chase out a fairly subtle target of 116 in the finals of the Hundred League against Welsh Fire. 

Laura Wolvaardt 

The South African opening batter who played for Manchester Originals in the Hundred League and ended the tournament being the 6th highest scorer of the tournament. She managed to make 215 runs in 7 innings, which included one half century and the 2nd highest individual score of the tournament (78*). 

Also Read – The Hundred: IPL Players Who’d Become Superstars

Jess Jonassen 

The left-arm orthodox bowler from Australia ended up being in the 3rd position for taking most wickets in the Hundred League. She was a part of Welsh Fire and managed to pick up 12 wickets with an impressive economy of 6.62 in such a fast-paced format. Unfortunately, she was not able to take any wickets in the finals of the tournament against the London Spirits but stopped the flow of runs for the opposition by giving only 16 runs in 18 balls. 

The Hundred League commenced in the last week of July and has reached near the quarterfinals stage now. Consisting of a total of 100 balls in each inning, this shorter format opened a new way of playing fast-paced cricket with a different strategy needed to be accustomed to other than all the other formats.

Many players got humbled in all the departments as per the demand of this format; for instance, Rashid Khan got hit for 5 consecutive by Kieron Pollard, who retired from IPL 2 years ago and still managed to hit these maximums against one of the greatest spin bowlers of the world.

Nicholas Pooran

Nicholas is a part of the Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League. He used to bat at number 5 during the middle overs and was given the role of a finisher for the team. Pooran scored a total of 499 runs in 14 matches, just a couple of runs behind the captain KL Rahul in the IPL, with a destructive strike rate of 178.21 and an impressive average of 62.37. He was the 8th highest scorer in the IPL season 2024 and the only batsman to enter the top ten after batting at number 5.

In the Hundred League, Nicholas Pooran sits in the 3rd position for the highest runs in this league. He plays for the Northern Superchargers and recently came into the limelight for his blistering innings of 66* off 33 balls against the Manchester Originals. In that gigantic innings, he also hit a six of 113 meters on the 74th ball of the innings, and Scott Burrie bowled the ball on the leg, which was clobbered on the mid wicket region by Nicholas Pooran.

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Phil Salt

Salt played as a top-order batsman from the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024. Phil made 435 runs in 12 matches with an average of over 40 and a lethal strike rate of 182. He opened with Sunil Narine, and both the batsmen combined gave a swashbuckling start for KKR. Salt and Narine combined made 559 runs in 12 innings, which was the third-best this season. The pair had six fifty-plus partnerships this season, the most by any pair.

In the Hundred League, he sits in the 4th position for the most runs scored list for the Manchester Originals. In 7 matches, he made 261 runs and averaged up to 30.85 with a satisfactory strike rate of 148.96.

Sam Curran

Sam played for Kings X1 Punjab in 2024; he is a bowling all-rounder who even opened for the team this season and played some clinical innings, which contributed to some victories for the team. This season for the Punjab Kings was not really good for the team, and a basic performance was given by Sam Curran. He made 246 runs this year with a satisfactory average of 26. Along with that, he took 16 wickets in the IPL 2024 season for the Punjab Kings in 13 matches, but had an expensive economy of around 10.15.

He plays for Oval Invincibles in the Hundred League and made 176 runs in 7 matches, which averages up around 26 and took 16 wickets, which is an impeccable record to sustain. He is the second highest wicket taker this year in the Hundred League. He became the first batsman to score a half-century and take five wickets in the same match in the Hundred.

Rashid Khan

He is considered one of the best bowlers of the T20 format around the world with astounding stats. He played for the Gujarat Titans this season (2024) and played 12 matches. Unfortunately, this season he was in his recovery phase after his back injury, due to which he bowled fewer overs and comparatively had a normal stat this season, taking only 10 wickets in 12 matches with an economy of 8.40. Along with that, he made 110 runs with the bat averaging up to 20.40.

In the Hundred League, he played for the Trent Rockets and took 9 wickets out of 5 matches. This season he became famous for getting hit for 5 sixes by Kieron Pollard from the Southern Braves; unfortunately, just after that match, Rashid Khan was unavailable to play the remainder matches and replaced by Chris Green. Due to injuries occurring this year, Rashid Khan suffered from not being able to give the best out of his performance.

Hopefully soon after the recovery he will make a comeback, as this year he made history by becoming one of the youngest captains of Afghanistan to lead in the T20 World Cup, and for the first time Afghanistan qualified for the semi finals, which were played against England.

ALSO READ: Batsman With Most Consecutive Sixes Against Rashid Khan

The Hundred is a league in which 100 balls are bowled in each inning max; this league is played in England and Wales between the cities of these countries. There are a total of 8 teams in the league named – Welsh Fire, Manchester Originals, Southern Brave, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, London Spirit, Birmingham Phoenix, and Trent Rockets.

International players from various countries play in this league for the teams, and many cricketers who have not yet debuted for England also get the chance to play in this league along with the big international players. Let’s look at 2 players who captained the teams of the Hundred League and have not yet made a debut for England in international cricket.

Tom Abell

An English batting all-rounder from Taunton, Somerset. He is 30 years old and debuted in first-class cricket on August 15, 2018. He made 95 runs in his first inning and got out on a silver duck the following inning.

Further, he made a debut in the T20 format in the Nat-West Blast T20 for Somerset but unfortunately got out on 7. He has an average of 32.85 in T20Is and captained the Welsh Fire team in the Hundred League. Currently, he played for Birmingham Phoenix this year. He has 14 matches in the Hundred League in which he made a total of 195 runs with an average of 16.2.

Josh Cobb

Josh is a 33-year-old English cricketer from Leicester City. He made his appearance in cricket with his debut in 2008 for Leicester in first-class cricket. He made 23 runs in his debut match and bowled 9 overs, out of which he got no wickets. He debuted in T20Is for Leicester City, playing against Glamorgan. He scored 251 when he played a U-19 match against Bangladesh in 2009. He was the captain of Welsh Fire in 2022 in the Hundred League.

Surprisingly both of the players are from the same team which shows that the team promotes domestic cricket and allows the native players to showcase their talent among the bigger players who play internationally and represent cricket on a global level.

Sam Curran was the hero for Oval Invincibles with a five-wicket haul, including a hat-trick. Oval Invincibles made it three wins from four in The Hundred with Sam Curran’s all-round heroics proving the difference between two sides fighting it out for bragging rights in the capital.

Sam Curran smashed 51 from 22 balls, single-handedly dragging the Invincibles to a strong total on a tricky surface before decimating the Spirit’s hopes of chasing 147 in an astonishing five-wicket spell that included a hat-trick.

On a Lord’s pitch offering a degree of lateral movement, Invincibles’ captain Sam Billings chose to bat first, and with Spirit’s attack making good use of the bowler-friendly surface, the visitors struggled to 46-2 at the halfway stage.

Best All Round Performance By Sam Curran In Hundred League History

Also Read: Shoaib Bashir Profile – Carrer, Achievements, Facts, And Personal Life

Olly Stone bowled Will Jacks through the gate and Liam Dawson dismissed Jordan Cox, who was fresh off his call-up to the England Men’s Test squad.

Sam Curran hits a brilliant half-century off just 21 balls for the Oval Invincibles, including three sixes in a row. Curran hit a brilliant half-century off just 21 balls for the Oval Invincibles, including three sixes in a row. Dawid Malan and Billings then struck a few hefty blows before Malan was caught on the square-leg boundary off Matt Critchley for 38 from 29.

Billings struggled to get going and retired himself out in favour of the in-form Donovan Ferreira, but it was Curran who turned the tide, reaching a half century off 21 deliveries, including three successive sixes off Nathan Ellis. His innings propelled Invincibles to a decent-looking 147-5.

In response, Spirit made it through the powerplay unscathed, Keaton Jennings and Michael Pepper guiding them to 35-0.

But thereafter Invincibles’ top-notch spin attack turned the screw, with both openers and Ollie Pope falling in quick succession; Jacks removing Jennings lbw, Adam Zampa having Pepper caught with the first ball of his spell, and Nathan Sowter crashing a leg break through Pope’s defences.

London Spirit’s Charlie Dean leaps through the air to make a sensational catch, following it up a few balls later with a big wicket against the Oval Invincibles. Spirit’s Charlie Dean leaped through the air to make a sensational catch!

Dan Lawrence and Shimron Hetmyer dragged the Spirit back into it and with 56 needed from the final 30 balls, the game was on. But before they could up the ante, Zampa, who ended with figures of 3-22, dismissed both Hetmyer (20 from 21) and Lawrence (27 from 18).

Despite Andre Russell attempting to bludgeon the hosts home, Curran made the Invincibles win a certainty by taking only the third hat-trick in the history of the The Hundred men’s competition to cap one of the tournament’s greatest individual performances.

Player of the match: Sam Curran

“I’ve had a few battles with Russ (Russell) over the years. The hat-trick ball wasn’t on my mind, it was either going to be me or him, he was going to hit me for six or I was going to get a wicket. Thankfully he edged it but most importantly we got the win,” said Curran.

“It’s never over when players like Dan (Lawrence), Hetmyer and Russell are there, so when we got him (Russell) out it was a big relief.”

Since its inception in 2021, The Hundred has entertained cricket lovers with its fast-paced format. While batters go all-guns-blazing, it is the responsibility of the bowlers to quiet the batters.

Here is a list of most dot balls bowled in an innings in Men’s The Hundred: 

London Spirit vs Welsh Fire (2024)- 56

In a match between London Spirit and Welsh Fire August 01, 2024, Daniel Worrall bowled 16 dot balls and registered a record in the history of the league by bowling 10 consecutive dot balls. Olly Stone and  Liam Dawson also bowled 13 dots each for London Spirit. The team bowled a total of 56 dots in the innings at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in St John’s Wood. Spirit won by 3 wickets with 13 balls remaining. 

Oval Invincibles v Manchester Originals (2023)- 54

Oval Invincibles ballers bowled a total of 54 dot balls to batters of Manchester Originals in a match on August 09, 2023 at The Oval in Kennington. Richard Gleeson bowled nine dot balls for Oval Invincibles and Josh Little delivered six dot balls. Invincibles won by 94 runs.

Manchester Originals v Welsh Fire  (2024)- 53

Manchester Originals took on Welsh Fire on July 25, 2024 at the Old Trafford in Manchester in a match of the league. The host bowled 53 dots in total which included 14 by David Payne , 12 by David Willey and 10 by  Josh Little. Fire won by 8 wickets with 43 balls remaining.

Northern Superchargers v Manchester Originals  (2021)- 52

At Emerald Headingley Cricket Stadium in Leeds, Northern Superchargers faced Manchester Originals on August 12. Northern Superchargers bowled 52 dots to Manchester Originals. Lockie Ferguson and Ackermann bowled eight dots each to Northern Superchargers. Northern Superchargers won by 69 runs. 

Also Read: Top 5 Highest Run Chases in Men’s The Hundred

Birmingham Phoenix v Oval Invincibles (2023)- 51

Birmingham Phoenix took on Oval Invincibles on home turf Edgbaston in Birmingham on August 13. Birmingham Phoenix ballers bowled 51 dots to batters of Oval Invincibles. This included seven dots by Nathan Sowter and six each by Sam Curran and Sunil Narine. Birmingham Phoenix won by 41 runs. 

The ECB desires to make the The Hundred the second best cricket league in the world in the shortest format of the game after the IPL. And among those interested to buy stakes are Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, all of whom have been spoken to by the ECB.

The third edition of The Hundred starts on July 23 and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) is set to revamp the tournament from next season. To this end the ECB has invited private investments to pump in more money into the competition as a part of its programme called “Project Gemini”.

Hundred Millions For The Hundred

ECB Director of Business Operations Vikram Banerjee, who is headlining the process on behalf of ECB and the wider game, said: “We have identified this moment as the opportunity to take The Hundred to the next level while capitalizing on the global interest in the competition to underpin the structure of the whole domestic game”.

The ECB desires to make the The Hundred the second best cricket league in the world in the shortest format of the game after the IPL. And among those interested to buy stakes are Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises, all of whom have been spoken to by the ECB.

“We’re about to enter a commercial negotiation, but at a principal level, this will run very similar to other franchise leagues around the world. We have spoken about the IPL owners. I’ve met all of them and taken feedback from them on specific things about what’s important,” Banerjee added.

The stakes in the eight teams of “The Hundred” will be up for sale from September. The hosts of the eight teams will be given a 51% share, which they can sell or keep. The remaining 49% in each team was sold by the ECB to private investors.

Also Read: The Home of Cricket: Unveiling the History and Traditions of Lord’s Cricket Ground

Of the 49% stakes sold, 10% of the revenue will go to the recreational game in England and Wales and the rest further shared between the 18 first-class counties and the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). The 11 non-host countries will get a greater share of this portion.

The existing debt levels among some counties have been estimated at nearly UK£200 million (US$258 million) in total. Therefore, convincing the investors of a decent return on investment is crucial for the ECB.

The objective is to transform the look of the league and make it more popular that will create a generation of fans that will show up at the cricket ground. There are also plans to add more teams, according to sources.

Also Read: 5 Highest Opening Partnerships In T20I Cricket

Richard Gould, chief executive of the ECB, said inviting outside investment into The Hundred was a crucial step to keep up with rival leagues to attract top cricketers.  “If we were to delay too much, I think others may end up stealing a march on us. That would be to our disadvantage,” he said. “We need to be able to ensure that we retain the best players, both men and women, going forward for the next 10 to 20 years.”

The ECB had turned down an offer from Bridgepoint Group in December 2022 to buy a 75% stake in the competition and there are currently no plans to sell the tournament.