Alice Capsey has set her sights on World Cup glory with England this year after a rollercoaster 2023.

The teenage sensation has enjoyed a rapid rise since starring in the inaugural Hundred at the age of 16, being snapped up by franchise leagues around the globe and making her international bow in both white-ball formats during the ensuing two-and-a-half-years.

Capsey played her part in the drawn Women’s Ashes last summer, but was also involved in the England team which lost in the semi-finals of the Twenty20 World Cup at the start of 2023.

The next World Cup will take place in Bangladesh later this year and the explosive batter wants to help Heather Knight’s side go all the way.

“Hopefully we can go one better this year and not have the same disappointment we had,” Red Bull athlete Capsey told the PA news agency.

“What we’ve got in the dressing room at the moment is a really fun and supportive culture. Everyone is loving being a part of it and the freedom we’re given.

“People really came out and watched us in the Ashes, so we want to keep building momentum. We want to keep showing what women’s cricket is about.

“We speak a lot in the dressing room about inspiring and entertaining. I think that shows in how we play and I hope it does, but that’s another thing we’ll look to build on and do even better this year. It is a really exciting year.”

Last year started with Capsey facing a race against time to be fit for the T20 World Cup in February after she broke her collarbone in the West Indies two months earlier.

Capsey recovered but was out for a duck in England’s semi-final loss to South Africa before she was whisked off to India for the inaugural Women’s Premier League, where she helped Delhi Capitals finish runners-up.

 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Delhi Capitals (@delhicapitals)


A maiden Ashes series was the next assignment for Capsey, who struck a classy 46 in a memorable five-wicket victory over Australia at a packed Lord’s and followed it up with an important 40 in another nail-bitter at Bristol.

The final act of 2023, after featuring in the Hundred and Big Bash League in Australia, was England’s tour of India where red-ball disappointment followed for the 19-year-old after she had also been overlooked for the one-off Ashes Test in June.

“It has definitely been a rollercoaster,” Capsey admitted.

“Yeah, international cricket and any international sport is hard. It takes a toll on the mind and also physically so those couple of injuries didn’t help me, but I am starting to find my way now of how to manage it all.

“It was a season of highs and lows, but I probably didn’t perform as well as I would have liked. I was a bit inconsistent and that is something I want to work on and is definitely a goal I am looking towards for 2024.

“It was a really enjoyable year. A lot of firsts again which sounds a bit crazy after the last three years but it was brilliant.

“Playing in a World Cup and things like that, they are all high-pressure moments. Hopefully the more moments like that I have, the better I will get at competing in them and the more experiences I will have to look back on.

“I guess it is kind of building a toolbox so you can come back to when the pressure is on.”

Capsey begins 2024 in India with another edition of the WPL before she joins up with the England squad for the final two T20s of a five-match series in New Zealand.

It kickstarts an action-packed year of white-ball cricket, but the all-rounder’s Test ambitions still burn brightly.

“Everyone had a lot of conversations with the management staff and it was definitely a combined decision over what was best for the individual,” Capsey explained regarding her WPL participation.

“We have a World Cup in Bangladesh and looking even more to the future we have a 50-over World Cup next year in India and this is part and parcel of my development.

“I have targeted an area I want to work on, which is spin and it is another stepping stone in my development to spend a bit longer out here and pick the brains of the people who play spin the best.

“If individuals are getting better and learning how to play their best games in those conditions, it will benefit England as well.

“Having that aspiration to continue working really hard and that end goal to make my Test debut is definitely something at the forefront of my mind and something I’m working towards.”

Red Bull athlete Alice Capsey is an England and Delhi Capitals all-rounder. Find out more about her here.

Jon Lewis has opened the door for in-form Tammy Beaumont to force her way into England’s Twenty20 team before next year’s World Cup in Bangladesh.

Beaumont blitzed the first century in the women’s edition of the Hundred on Monday, smashing 118 off 61 balls for Welsh Fire, but she was only included in England’s ODI squad for the upcoming series with Sri Lanka on Friday.

England left Beaumont out of the T20 squad for the series with Sri Lanka, which begins on August 31, despite resting opener Sophia Dunkley.

Sophie Ecclestone will also sit out both series, while Danni Wyatt is only part of the T20 group and Nat Sciver-Brunt will only be involved in the ODIs but Lewis has preferred to give Maia Bouchier an opportunity in Dunkley’s absence.

He explained: “Obviously Tammy is playing fantastically well and I am really pleased with how she is playing.

“We had to make a choice around who would open the batting with Danni Wyatt.

“Maia Bouchier has been our travelling reserve for that whole time, so my view on that was Maia deserves that opportunity.

“I suppose on Tammy, and I said this to her, we have a year now until we pick a World Cup XV and I want her to keep doing what she is doing.

“The door is definitely not shut on her to play T20 cricket for England.

“I know she is desperate to play and how hard she is working, but I just want to try to develop the rest of the team to give us as many options as we can to put pressure on everyone who would be normally selected in the XI.

“I think Tammy is OK with the decision; I don’t think she is particularly happy but she understands if she continues to push her case, then she may well get the opportunity down the line but Sophia and Danni have done a fantastic job for us.

“I know what Tammy will do against Sri Lanka and I don’t know what Maia will do, so I am really interested to see how she goes because we’ve been carrying her around the world.”

England’s decision to manage the workload of Dunkley, Wyatt, Sciver-Brunt and Ecclestone has resulted in maiden call-ups for Mahika Gaur and Bess Heath.

Fast bowler Gaur has committed her international future to England after being selected in both white-ball squads.

The 17-year-old has represented United Arab Emirates in 19 IT20s but is set to make her debut for England after a fine summer where she helped North West Thunder make the Charlotte Edwards Cup Finals Day.

Heath hit 41 for England A against Australia A earlier this summer and is selected in both groups following a consistent run of form.

“I wouldn’t call it experimental. I would say it is exciting, young and fresh,” Lewis insisted.

“We have a year now until the World Cup and I am trying to work out which players we need to take to Bangladesh and it will be interesting to see how these young players do.

“Obviously Mahika is an exciting young talent. Six foot tall, left-arm swing bowler, that is very, very rare in the women’s game and unique.

“We have looked at all our options with the new ball around the country and we like what she offers.

“Will she play all the games? Probably not but we’d like to see what she can do and she is very much one for the future.

“Getting her playing cricket for England sooner rather than later is something we want to do to show her we like what she does and can help her develop.”

West Indies Women fell to a second consecutive defeat at the 2023 ICC Women’s World Cup on Wednesday, losing by six wickets to India at Newlands.

The West Indies were restricted to 118-6 from their 20 overs, a total India overhauled getting to 119-4 from 18.1 overs.

Winning the toss and opting to bat, the West Indies, despite the early loss of Captain Hayley Matthews for two, laid a solid foundation for a competitive score in the Powerplay.

After losing Matthews to the bowling of Pooja Vastrakar with only four runs on the board, Stafanie Taylor and Shemaine Campbell shared in a second wicket partnership of 73 before disaster struck in the 14th over bowled by Deepti Sharma.

With her third ball, Sharma caught and short third-man for 30. Three balls later and one run later, Sharma struck again trapping Taylor lbw for 42.

The West Indies were in further trouble when Chinelle Henry was run out for two in the 15th.

From there the West Indies Women struggled to accelerate the scoring despite the efforts of Chedean Nation who scored an unbeaten 21 from 18 balls and Shabika Gajnabi’s 15 from 13.

Player of the Match Sharma would later bowl Afy Fletcher for a duck to finish the impressive figures of 3-15.

Rashada Williams was not out on two at the other end as the West Indies innings closed on 118-6.

Karishma Ramharck and Matthews tried to make a fight of it claiming the first three Indian wickets with 43 runs on the board in the eighth over.

Ramharack took the wickets of openers Shafali Verma for a 23-ball 28 with the score at 32 and Matthews got Jerimah Rodriquez caught and bowled for one to make it 35-2.

Ramharack then Smriti Mandhana stumped for 10 in the eighth over and India were 43-3.

However, by the 10th over India were scoring at better than six runs an over as Captain Harmanpreet Kaur and Richa Ghosh, helped by some wayward bowling, filled their boots with an stand of 72 that took India within four runs of victory.

Ghosh, unbeaten on 44, struck Shamilia Connell for the winning runs first ball of the 19 over for match to send the West Indies Women to their 15th consecutive defeat in T20 internationals and their eighth straight against India.

Ramharack was the best of the bowlers with 2-14 with Matthews taking 1-12 and Henry 1-21.

 

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.