Lauren Bell opens up on competition for places under new head coach Charlotte Edwards as England bid to step up a level against India

Fast bowler Lauren Bell has insisted that ‘no one is coasting any more’ as England prepare for their biggest showdown of the summer against India.

The new management team of head coach Charlotte Edwards and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt have already presided over six white-ball wins out of six over West Indies, five of them by crushing margins. Now, they must move up a level against the Indians, with the first of five T20s starting at Trent Bridge on Saturday, followed by three ODIs.

‘It’s been a great start,’ said the 24-year-old Bell, who has 98 wickets for England across the three formats since her debut three years ago, and has ambitions of being the best fast bowler in the world.

‘Charlotte has this real winning mentality, and she’s come in and set these really clear goals for how we want to go about our cricket. We’re able to review a game quite objectively, rather than going off emotions.’

But Edwards, the former World Cup-winning captain who assumed the role when Jon Lewis was sacked in March following the Ashes debacle over the winter, has also been willing to ring the changes, giving 30-year-old left-arm spinner Linsey Smith a run in the side after world No 1 Sophie Ecclestone announced she was taking a break from the domestic game with Lancashire to prioritise her ‘well-being’ and manage a sore thigh.

‘You want to put performances in because you want to get picked,’ said Bell. ‘No one’s coasting anymore. No one is guaranteed a place in the starting XI. Some of the things Lottie has implemented will hopefully have a knock-on effect with how we deal with real pressure situations.’

For all the success enjoyed by the new regime against West Indies, England still need a strong performance against more potent opposition if they are to shake off the criticism that followed them all round Australia.

Above all, they were dogged by comments from former team-mate Alex Hartley about their lack of fitness, with Lewis eventually arguing that Australia’s outdoor culture gave them an inherent advantage over their English counterparts.

Bell, though, believes the matter became overblown. ‘Everyone can have their opinion, and it was massively what people were talking about, but it didn’t feel exactly why we were losing games of cricket,’ she said.

‘As a team, we work super hard, and fitness-wise we’re in a good place. Lottie has come in and set these minimum standards, which is good, but it shouldn't affect the majority of the team. There are many other factors to why we struggled in Australia.’

Saturday’s first T20 is part of a big summer in which all three of England’s main teams – the women, the men and the mixed disability side – are in action against India.