I’m really competitive, like to win at everything: Alice Capsey
The 18-year-old England batting all-rounder, whose consistency has helped Delhi Capitals set up a final against Mumbai Indians in WPL, talks about her game and the inaugural T20 league
During Delhi Capitals’ last league match of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) against UP Warriorz, Alice Capsey was facing Deepti Sharma when the latter pulled out of her action as she often does. The 18-year-old from England was not impressed, as the off-spinner would find out moments later.
Capsey swept the next ball powerfully for four, between the deep mid-wicket and deep square-leg fielders. She jogged across to the other end of the pitch and gave Deepti a long hard stare, possibly with some words thrown in. She went on to hit a 31-ball 34, steering DC to a five-wicket win.
That moment summed up the fiery character that Capsey is on the field. She has emerged as one of the most promising young talents in WPL, playing her part in guiding DC to Sunday’s final.
“I’m really competitive, I like to win at everything and do everything the best I can,” says Capsey. “That also comes from the fact that I’m the youngest of five siblings. I’ve kind of always competed against them, and that’s how I got into cricket anyway. I try to stay as consistent as possible with my tempo and aggression in play. When I’m enjoying my cricket, I’m playing my best cricket.”
DC boast of a strong batting lineup. Skipper Meg Lanning and Shafali Verma followed by Jemimah Rodrigues, Marizanne Kapp and Jess Jonassen in the middle order. Capsey started the tournament slowly but scored 132 runs in the last four league games to help DC qualify directly to the final.
Her knock against MI stood out. She hit five sixes in an unbeaten 38 off 17 balls as DC won by nine wickets.
“Meg and Shafali have been brilliant and set the tone for us in the middle order. We’ve had a pretty easy ride,” says Capsey.
Ask which players have influenced her game the most, and the teenager picks Jos Buttler and Kevin Pietersen.
“They really fit the way I like to play. The attacking nature and playing some ridiculous shots, they looked like they’re having fun while also being calm and collected. In the women’s game, there are Charlotte Edwards and Heather Knight, who I’m fortunate to still play with in the England side. And then there’s Katherine Brunt, who in my opinion changed the women’s game in England especially.”
Playing under Lanning has been a big positive for her. The Aussie great has won it all as captain in international cricket and her leadership has played a key role in taking DC to the final. “She’s the best captain in the world, isn’t she? This is my first time playing with her and I’ve absolutely loved it. She brings that calmness and experience to the team. She’s probably been in every situation under the sun, so knows how to deal with different setbacks.
“You can see her reading the game so well. Watching her do that has kind of been my biggest thing. She gets everyone involved and yeah, it’s brilliant.”
Despite only just starting out herself, Capsey is aware of WPL’s importance for Indian youngsters.
“Just the love of the game everyone has here is amazing. WPL is starting to showcase how important it is, how big it can be. We’ve seen it with WBBL and The Hundred, but I think WPL is going to be bigger and better. It’s been amazing to watch the development of Indian youngsters over the past weeks, how they’ve thrown themselves into situations and their eagerness to learn.”
With their impressive win over UP Warriorz in the eliminator, MI will be high on confidence heading into the final.
“MI have been consistent all the way through. They’ve got the X-factor with Izzy Wong bowling really quick. They’ve also got the calm heads of (MI skipper) Harmanpreet Kaur and Natalie Sciver-Brunt. They’re a well-balanced side and we’ll have to play our best to beat them,” she says.