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Alice Capsey only turned 20 in August but she is already preparing for her second Women’s T20 World Cup.
A product of the Hundred and already an established figure on the ever-expanding women’s franchise circuit, Capsey has already played more cricket at the highest level several decades more than she ever thought possible.
Aged just 16 and adorned in the turquoise Invincible Oval, Capsey walked to bat alongside Georgia Adams in front of more than 20,000 people at the Oval. She never looked back but didn’t take the journey for granted.
“Heather [Knight] spoke when she made her T20 debut, it was basically in front of her friends and family, and then when she got her India cap in December playing in front of… I think we had 40,000 people over there,” Capsey said. The Independent.
“That’s the difference and I guess how much the game has progressed over the last couple of years. It was kind of a ‘pinch me’ moment and a little bit of realizing how far we’ve come and, for the senior players, of the journey they have taken in their career.
Crowds could be a new feature of women’s cricket – 11 years ago the Ashes Test match was played at Wormsley in front of a handful of spectators – and it can help inspire the players.
“I think I’m in a very lucky position, because I’ve played my whole career in front of big crowds,” Capsey said. “I almost think… because it’s so loud you can’t think, it almost clears your mind and you can just go out and enjoy.
“I think I agree, when you have that added pressure, as athletes and very competitive people, you just flip a switch and the adrenaline kicks in and more often than not you probably get the most out of yourself when you compete in these situations.
“I also love the energy that comes with playing in front of a crowd, I think it just puts me in fifth gear. It’s just a really cool thing that’s happening now in women’s football and it’s becoming more and more regular, which is so exciting.
However, the Women’s T20 World Cup, which begins on Thursday in the United Arab Emirates, is not expected to attract more than a handful of spectators. The tournament, postponed late due to rising political tensions in Bangladesh, will certainly mirror the men’s tournament held in the United Arab Emirates in 2021, failing to attract more than a handful of fans.
Although Capsey expressed gratitude to the UAE for participating as hosts and accepts the lack of crowds in the process, the lack of data will be even more problematic for many teams.
Since 2014, there have been only 22 high-profile women’s T20 internationals in the UAE, as well as a few World Cup qualifiers, and teams will not know how the pitches will play out until the tournament begins.
Dew played a significant role in the varying pitch conditions in the men’s tournament three years ago, with those who won the toss benefiting massively, but women’s cricket is different.
“As far as the UAE is concerned, there hasn’t been a lot of women’s cricket here, so no one has a good idea of what the conditions will be like. So I guess that means everyone is on a level playing field,” says Capsey.
“There’s been a huge amount of men’s cricket here, so you can see how the pitch played and how the players played. But what we have seen over the last three or four years is that men’s and women’s cricket are very different.
“For us, it’s about looking at what’s in front of us and understanding it as quickly as possible. Communication is going to be really key, I think, between the bowlers and the hitters in the partnerships, to try to find what’s best.
“But I think when it comes to not knowing the conditions, it’s a level playing field, we’re all in this together and it’s just a matter of who can adapt quicker than the other team.”
England’s tournament begins on Saturday against Bangladesh in Sharjah, where Knight’s side will have to adapt to a pitch they will not have played on before the match itself.
England are among the tournament favorites, alongside India and Australia, and will want to top a group including Scotland, South Africa and the West Indies to ensure a favorable draw in the round of 16 of final.
