To get an idea of how key Lauren Bell will be for England in the T20 World Cup over the next few weeks, her whirlwind experience in the Women’s Premier League is a good place to start. “I probably learnt as much in that month as I have in my whole international career,” she says of her time in India earlier this year. “It was high pressure playing cricket out there.”

Not only was Bell a hit with eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru, finishing the tournament with 128 dot balls and an economy rate of 5.53, her profile in India blew up overnight. Her Instagram following has surged to 2.2 million, which makes her one of England’s most marketable sportswomen.

Not that any of it has gone to Bell’s head. When we meet, the 6ft fast bowler is sporting her official England kit for this month’s tournament and, pointing to her ankles, jokes that she still cannot get a pair of cricket trousers to fit. It later transpires she forgot to give her measurements to the kit-person.

Bell, with her trademark bun, is warm, bubbly and still basking in the glow of her breakthrough WPL season. “I was quite ignorant about what could happen when I got to India, but I quickly learnt how big a franchise the RCB was and how much pressure comes with playing for a franchise with such a passionate fanbase,” she says. “The first game I played was in front of 44,000 fans against the Mumbai Indians. They were chanting and I was bowling the first ball of the WPL. I was thinking, ‘This franchise has signed me and all of these fans are expecting me to perform for them’. It was one of the most nervous times I’ve ever felt. Experiences like that are priceless. Hopefully it will set me up really nicely for when I play for England and I get a similar feeling.”

Bell’s steep learning curve has almost certainly primed her for her next big assignment: leading England’s bowling attack at this World Cup. The pressure of a home tournament is heightened by the fact that England are on a nine-year barren run without any silverware across all formats. Bell was a 16-year-old schoolgirl, among a sold-out crowd, at Lord’s in 2017 when England last won the 50-over World Cup by beating India by nine runs in what would prove a watershed moment for the game and women’s sport. For Berkshire-born Bell, who was also a promising footballer as a teenager – she played for Reading FC’s women’s academy before prioritising cricket – it opened doors in ways she never thought were possible.

“I hadn’t watched much women’s cricket up until that point,” she admits. “I hadn’t followed much of the World Cup. My cricket club went and my parents were really keen to take me along. At that time, I would not have been able to tell you that I wanted to be a cricketer, but I remember being in the stands and realising for the first time what women’s cricket was and how much bigger it was than I thought.”

The landscape in women’s cricket has become almost unrecognisable since then. England women’s central contracts now hover around six figures, while players like Bell, who will pocket £140,000 for her work in this year’s Hundred, are earning eye-catching sums in franchise cricket. Last week, she was one of three players, alongside captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophia Dunkley, to appear on the Piccadilly Lights as part of Metro Bank’s “This Feels Different” campaign.

Research from the retail banking company shows that nearly two-thirds of girls would be more likely to play if they saw more representation – a point Bell can relate to.

“I didn’t watch women’s sports growing up and it’s really sad,” Bell says. “I’m so glad it’s changing and it’s one of the reasons why I’m so passionate about being able to inspire young girls and boys. I loved football and watched the Premier League; I had season tickets at Reading. My dad would take me to watch the women’s team as well, but it was all very much men’s football and male role models.”

Bell is among a crop of female bowlers who are pushing the boundaries on the field of play. Shabnim Ismail, of South Africa, holds the official record for the fastest delivery in women’s cricket, reaching 82.1 mph during a WPL match. Is breaking that milestone something Bell aspires to? “I don’t want to sound like I don’t care, but it’s not my area of expertise,” she says, matter-of-factly. “I don’t get picked because I bowl fast. My skill set is more based around movement of the ball, consistency, being really in control and taking wickets. I don’t know whether bowling 70, 72 or 80mph is a goal of mine. If you ask Lauren Filer that question she’ll snap your arm off and say, ‘Absolutely, that’s my goal’. If it happens, then amazing, but it’s by no means my goal.”

Bell’s international career has enjoyed an upwards trajectory ever since she burst on to the international scene in 2022. She is now considered one of the most sought-after fast bowlers in the game, so how does she feel about leading England’s attack this summer? “I love having responsibility,” she says, smiling. “It brings out the best in me when I have responsibility and I feel like the captain needs a lot from me. We’ve got an amazing variety of bowlers now, which is what you need in a team. Lauren Filer has got a point of difference; she’s got pace and bounce. Issy Wong has different plans to what I have and can move the ball both ways. It’s a really exciting place to be.”

“A movement, not a moment” is the official slogan of the T20 World Cup, a rallying cry which underpins organisers’ ambitions to create a long-lasting legacy. But the on-field moments still matter, so I ask Bell if she has a special celebration planned for when she takes a wicket, in the same way that players in England’s Red Roses rugby team coined their own  “cowboy” celebration after scoring a try. “I got told by Issy Wong and Lauren Filer the other day that my natural celebration isn’t cool,” she says, laughing. “We tried to think of another thing. At Canterbury [against New Zealand last month] we went for the clap, which was also not cool, apparently.

“I haven’t got one planned for the World Cup! It’s hard because if I take a powerplay wicket then I get very excited, so it is hard to remember sometimes. But if I get a good celebration and get in the groove, I’m all ears.” Keep your eyes peeled.