George Bell making the most of first team chance
George Bell is making the most of what he has described as an unexpected chance in Lancashire’s first team at the start of the summer.
The effervescent young wicketkeeper batter has been the breakout star of the Red Rose’s three draw beginning to the LV= Insurance County Championship campaign.
Tidy and impressive behind the stumps, the 20-year-old has both grit and glamour with the bat in posting scores of 20, 60, 56 and 36 in four innings.
Bell has retained the place he first took hold of at the back end of last season, playing the final two Championship matches of the summer.
His debut was the unforgettable two-day win over Essex at Chelmsford when his second-innings 24 matched the second highest individual score in the fixture.
“I got off the pitch at the end of the first day and my dad and grandad were there, and I remember saying, ’26 wickets in a day, if this is what it’s going to be like every game then it’s going to be chaos’,” Bell reflected. “It definitely won’t be a game I forget.”
He must have a bit of a thing about Chelmsford as that’s where his two half-centuries this season came, in last month’s draw.
He played one straight drive for four and held the pose for good measure, indicating a certain confidence in his game. It was actually a clip which did the rounds on social media.
“I said to the lads later that I didn’t actually realise I’d done it,” he said.
“When I’m in, I can get a bit carried away because I enjoy batting so much.
“If that means me holding the pose, it’s just a way of me showing that I’m enjoying what I’m doing. It ended up making quite a funny little reel.”
Never mind enjoying what he’s doing, Bell is loving life in the thick of first-team cricket.
He counts Alderley Edge, where he currently lives and plays his league cricket when time allows, Urmston and Stretford as clubs who have helped shape him as a cricketer.
He also throws huge credit on former Lancashire captain and cricket director Mike Watkinson, who is head of cricket at Manchester Grammar School, where Bell went. More of that later.
So, about that unforeseen chance to start to the season.
Bell said: “I had a good start last season with a couple of games, but then I thought, ‘At the start of the season, there’s usually a lot of players available so I’ll not get much of a chance’.
“But I got my opportunity, and I tried to take it as best as I can. We’ve got such depth that if I don’t, someone else will. It’s been good.”
Bell spent his winter playing club cricket in Perth for the Rockingham Mandurah club.
“I loved it,” he continued. “We had quite a young side. So even though I’m only 20, I was one of the older lads there. It gave me a bit more of a sense of responsibility, especially as the overseas player.
“I did alright. I got a hundred and a few fifties throughout the season.
“It was definitely a good thing for me, and kind of made me grow up a bit quicker.
“Living on your own on the other side of the world, it wasn’t just cricket - it helped me as a person as well.
“I wasn’t too good with cooking before I went, for example, but I got a few tips off mates and got better as I went on. I’m not just eating beans on toast all the time now.”
Bell is excellent to watch as a cricketer. He is also really engaging to listen to talking about his career.
Returning to that earlier grit and glamour comment about his batting, he has shown both sides.
The majority of his Championship runs have come in tough circumstances. Grit.
Last season, he showed invention in a couple of limited overs appearances - one apiece in the Blast and the One-Day Cup when he posted scores of 31 and 35. Glamour.
“As a younger kid growing up playing, I always seemed to do quite well when our backs were against the wall,” he said. “I kind of enjoy those situations and embrace them.
“Batting down the order a bit, you have to be quite adaptable to the different situations.
“At Lancs, we pride ourselves on being quite gritty and always fighting. So I feel like that’s been ingrained in us through the age-groups.”
A tough cookie, indeed.
“I’m quite a small lad, so I try to create as much of a presence as I can,” he said. “It might come across as over-confidence, but I don’t want to make it look like I’m a young lad who can be gotten on top of easily.”
Bell was a key member of the England Under 19s squad which reached the World Cup final in the Caribbean at the start of last year alongside county colleagues Tom Aspinwall and Josh Boyden.
To date, he is the only one to have made his first-team Lancashire debut.
“In the moment, we probably didn’t appreciate it as much as we could have done,” he recalled. “It went by so fast that month, and it was a great time.
“I’ve stayed mates with pretty much all of the lads, and it was a shame we didn’t win it.
“It may be a regret a bit further down the line. But hopefully there’s a few of us who go on and play for the senior England team and get the chance to win a few things together.”
Bell is now keeping wicket to one of England’s greatest, Jimmy Anderson.
“It’s been really enjoyable,” he said. “You don’t realise how good he is until you’re stood there behind the stumps watching him. He gets so much carry, and he never misses.”
Bell certainly can’t rest on his laurels given the depth of wicketkeeping talent at Lancashire, including fellow young guns Matty Hurst and George Lavelle.
“We’re very lucky to have that depth, but hopefully I can keep those two at bay for a bit so I can get a few more games in,” he continued, before praising the man universally known around Emirates Old Trafford as Winker.
“He’s (Mike Watkinson) had a huge impact on me as a player. I’ve done a lot of work with him. He joined MGS the year I did. I had seven years working with him.
“He’s been there and done it, he knows the county system inside and out. It’s brilliant to have him as a mentor.”
Bell will take the gloves when Lancashire travel to Nottinghamshire on Thursday, and he is confident a first win of the summer can be achieved at the fourth attempt.
He added: “I don’t think we need to do much different. We’ve just had a bit of bad luck on some really good surfaces,” he added. “A good four days at Trent Bridge, and hopefully we come out on the right side.
“We’ve definitely thrown everything at these first three games. We’re a good side and it will come.”
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