England 'will never change' style despite collapse

Lauren Bell took 3-22 in England's series opener against Pakistan at Edgbaston

England are committed to their aggressive approach in the ongoing T20 series against Pakistan, despite a top-order collapse in the series opener.

Heather Knight's side slumped to 11-4 in a chaotic opening burst, before recovering to post 163-6.

But fast bowler Lauren Bell, 23, says the team will not be changing their style with bat or ball when the series continues at Northampton on Friday.

"Our approach will never change and neither will the messaging," said Bell.

"We discussed the way we go about our game and sticking to the attitude and the approach we have.

"We wanted to take the game forward and take the game on. That's always Jon's [head coach Jon Lewis] message and I don't think he'll move away from that."

Bell has taken on the responsibility of leading England's seam attack over the past 12 months, and started her summer positively by taking 3-22 in England's comprehensive 53-run win at Edgbaston last week.

She is expected to be joined by Nat Sciver-Brunt for the rest of the series after the all-rounder missed the opener to recover from a medical procedure.

A win in Northampton will see England take an unassailable lead in the three-match T20 series.

Recovery showed 'character' of team

Since Lewis' appointment in November 2022, England have prioritised an attacking brand of cricket and are prepared to accept the failures that may sometimes come with its territory.

Bell emphasised that positivity, saying the team were encouraged by their recovery from losing four early wickets rather than dwelling on the collapse itself.

"We didn't start either innings the way we wanted to but still ended up winning by a large amount in T20 cricket and that just shows the character and the depth of this team," she added.

Despite the eventual margin of victory, Pakistan dominated both powerplays, aided by England's reckless batting before they reached 57-2 at the end of their first six overs.

But assistant coach Gareth Breese reinforced Bell and Lewis' attitude, saying that they were a little "rusty" in their first international outing of the summer but that the team will learn from their mistakes.

"It's not about changing things too much, we just didn't execute what we wanted to do," said Breese.

"There’s a particular way that we are trying to play about really trying to put the pressure on the opposition and it didn’t come off in that instance.

"One blip won’t see us making a U-turn on our approach, they have our full support in that."