Derbyshire enlist Ian Bell as batting consultant for second season

Bell came onboard for Mickey Arthur's first year in charge and saw the county's batters enjoy a stellar year

Ian Bell is set to continue as Derbyshire's batting consultant for the 2023 season.

The former England batter joined the county ahead of last summer and watched as five of the club's batters scored in excess of 800 first-class runs, with Wayne Madsen the leading County Championship run-scorer in the country.

Bell, who is in demand and was part of the England Lions staff on this winter's trips to the UAE and Sri Lanka, also worked with Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

"You could see from the quality of our batting performances last season just how good the players we have are," he said, "and I'm excited to work with the group again and hopefully help them to get even more out of their game.

"Working with Mickey (Arthur) is something every young coach should dream of; you're learning from one of the best in the world and I know this will help me as I go through my coaching career."

The Warwickshire great is due to join up with Derbyshire on their pre-season camp in Spain.

^{Bell was easy on the eye as a player (Stu Forster/Getty Images)}

Arthur added: "Ian's experience as a player has moulded him into a good coach and he'll be a valuable asset for our batters to work with in 2023.

"He will have more availability for Derbyshire next season, which can only be a good thing for our players, and it's important that we utilise his experience and expertise whenever possible.

"Ian works around the world, he sees what's working and isn’t working with batting and it means he can always come in with a fresh set of eyes and new ideas to enhance our strong batting line-up."

Derbyshire have added Matt Lamb – a former Warwickshire teammate of Bell – to their ranks for the coming season, as well as fast bowler Zak Chappell and Pakistan batter Haider Ali.

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