Brilliant to watch: Olivia Bell on Scotland's T20 WC qualification

Born in Greater Manchester, England, but representing Cricket Scotland, Olivia Bell is one of the young players Scotland will definitely be looking to build their team around. The 20-year-old off-spinner has also made a good start to the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024. 

Having already represented Scotland in the Women’s U-19 T20 World 2023, Bell has also gained decent experience playing domestic cricket in England. She represents the North West Thunder and also played for Southern Vipers in the Charlotte Edwards Cup. She was the leading wicket-taker for her side back in 2023 while also achieving the same feat in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy. 

She may not have participated in the T20 World Cup qualifiers this year, but watching her side achieve qualification for the first time was surely a moment to remember. 

Ahead of the T20 World Cup 2024, Bell spoke to Women’s CricZone, sharing her cricketing journey, Scotland’s T20 World Cup qualification, playing domestic cricket in England and more.

Q: What are your thoughts on Scotland’s performances in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers?

I was watching from home and it was brilliant. The noticeable thing was the confidence. The belief that we as a team had, you could see it from an outsider’s perspective, which is brilliant, and I knew the confidence everyone had been having in the camp. I think they obviously took quite a lot of momentum and positivity from the previous qualifiers which were brilliant. Desert Springs versus us, won a couple of games there and got a bit of confidence. We could beat them but we knew that going into the competition from an outsider’s perspective, the Ireland game would be a big game. And I was a bit nervous watching it back home. But it started off really well and I just knew that we were going to do it. And then we qualified, and it was just brilliant to watch.

Q: You have represented Northwest Thunder in domestic cricket. Can you take us to your experience and the things you learned playing domestic cricket in England?

Domestic cricket in England is a little different. There are obviously more players and more involvement from the girls’ side. So there is obviously a lot of competition, probably more so than in Scotland at the moment. So I think having played in the academy and also the senior site, I reckon there’s competition for places to get on the side. But I think they are getting there. And things like super series will improve off the back of more players playing and more players joining clubs.

Q: Going back, can you talk about the beginning of your cricketing journey and how it all started?

There is a cricket club just behind my house. When I was about five, me and my family just went down and had a little look to see what’s going on, and it was a junior training night. So my parents sat and watched me and my brother and sister play a bit of cricket. I started with softball and from there I joined the U-13. After playing with the boys and the girls at my club, I got into Thunder Academy. From there, I just carried on playing for them and got picked up in the senior team. This was two years ago. And then last November, I got my first professional contract. It was a two-year deal to play full-time, which I have been doing for the last year, and alongside that, join the Scotland set up in 2022. We went to Holland and qualified for the U-19 World Cup. The U-19 World Cup in South Africa was brilliant, and then we started doing stuff in the senior squad around that time as well. I missed out on the qualifiers because I had a fracture in my back. When they qualified, I was back fit and got picked for the T20 World Cup.

Q: And what's next for you? What are your future goals and aspirations?

In the next year or so, I just want to play as much as I can and obviously be full-time. You play a lot already, but I just want as much game time as possible for both Thunder and Scotland. There are a couple of qualifiers and big tournaments coming up for Scotland again. So it’s just like getting to semifinals and finals and trying to pick up some silver.