Former England man Ian Bell takes on Derbyshire CCC batting role

Ian Bell is to take on a batting consultancy role at Derbyshire.

In 118 Test Matches, Bell scored 7,727 runs at an average of 42.69, including 22 centuries and a top-score of 235 against India in 2011.

His international white-ball career was equally impressive, with 5,416 runs from 161 One-Day Internationals, while the Warwickshire stalwart amassed more the 20,000 first-class runs in a career that saw him win six domestic trophies, including two County Championships, as well as coming out on top in five Ashes series.

Having previously nurtured the talents of England’s Under 19s between 2019 and 2020, Bell now joins Derbyshire, where he will work alongside Head of Cricket, Mickey Arthur, and fellow former England international, Assistant Coach (Bowling Lead), Ajmal Shahzad.

Bell, who joins for the opening block of LV= County Championship cricket, will form an integral part of Arthur’s coaching setup, while continuing to develop his coaching experience outside of the Club, including with Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

He replaces Mal Loye, who leaves his role as Assistant Coach (Batting Lead).

On the appointment, Arthur said: “As a player, Ian had a career which any batter would be proud of, and it will be a great opportunity for our players to learn from him and develop under his coaching.

“Last season, the batting was an aspect of the squad’s game that needed to improve, so Ian’s arrival gives us a real boost, he has considerable international experience and that will help us continue to drive the standards we’ve set for the team.”

Bell added: “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 part of it for the next couple of months.

“I had my first session with the team yesterday and there's a lot of talent there.

"Now it’s about making sure that it’s always on show across all formats. Between them, our batters have more than 100 all-formats centuries and there’s the ability to make big scores, my job is to help them to continue progressing and perform at their best.”