The runners up of inaugural edition of Women Premier League (WPL) 2023, Delhi Capitals’ 18-year-old English recruit Alice Capsey wreaked havoc in Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy to bundle out Western Storm for a paltry 89 in Bristol on May 1. Playing for South East Stars, Capsey took six wickets for 28 runs to help her side win by a massive margin of 207 runs.
South East Stars skipper Bryony Smith won the toss and opted to bat first. Kira Chathli got out for a six-ball duck in the first over. Capsey could not contribute with the bat bowled for a golden duck. Alice Davidson Richards registered a single-digit score as South East Stars were reduced to 17/3 in seventh over. Skipper Bryony scored a half-century whereas Paige Scholfield played a match-winning knock of unbeaten 134 off 109 deliveries including 14 fours and three sixes. She had support from Tash Farrant who scored a 32-ball 45. Scholfield's century helped South East Stars post 296/7.
In reply, Western Storm got off to a slow start. Capsey got the wickets of no.3 batter Orla Prendergast (16) and opener Alex Griffiths (21). Later in the innings, she capitalised on the pressure applied by Bryony's three-fer. She got rid of lower-order batters and tailenders to bundle out Western Storm for 89 in 30.5 overs.
In the previous game, Capsey did not bowl a single over and Southern Vipers posted 287/6. She could not do much with the bat as her side lost the match by 158 runs.
Earlier this year, Capsey was picked for Rs 75 lakh by Capitals after a bidding war with champions Mumbai Indians (MI). In her debut season, she scored 159 runs from eight games at an average of 26.50. Her high score of 38 came against MI. While she could not score a single half-century, it was her strike rate of 155.88 that impressed many. With the ball, she took six wickets and conceded runs at an economy rate of 7.02 runs per over. Her best bowling figures of 3/26 came against UP Warriorz.
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