Five-time Ashes winner Ian Bell has been announced as Derbyshire’s batting consultant for the first two months of the upcoming county season. Bell, who replaces Mal Loye, joins a new-look coaching setup at Derby helmed by head coach Mickey Arthur. "As a young coach, the opportunity to learn from one of the biggest names in the game was massive," Bell said. "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."
Speaking of Bell's appointment, Arthur said: "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. "Since retiring from professional cricket in 2020, Bell's coaching career has included short stints with Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash and another with Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred. He has also worked with England Under-19s. Bell has scored 7727 runs, including 22 hundreds, at an average of 42.69 in 118 Test matches while in the ODIs, he has 5,416 runs in 161 matches. Bell who was known for his exquisite cover drives, was Man of the Series in one of the five Ashes triumphs and was also part of England’s memorable Test series triumph on Indian soil in 2012.
