Alice Capsey: ‘I wouldn’t have played for England so soon without the Hundred’

If there is one player who encapsulates how the Hundred has changed the landscape of women’s cricket, it is Alice Capsey. Three years ago, she was an unknown 16-year-old hoping she might get selected for Oval Invincibles. Five days into the first year of the competition, she hit an unbeaten 50 at Lord’s and suddenly everyone wanted a piece of her.

Within a year she was making her England debut; subsequent stints in the Women’s Big Bash League in Australia and the Women’s Premier League in India confirmed her status as one of the biggest superstars in global women’s cricket.

“The Hundred changed my life,” she says.

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The fourth edition concludes this weekend: Saturday’s semi-final will be a London derby between Capsey’s Invincibles and London Spirit at the Oval, while the winner will meet Welsh Fire in the final at Lord’s on Sunday. And the crowds keep growing – this year there have been record attendances for matches at Old Trafford, the Utilita Bowl, Headingley, Trent Bridge and Sophia Gardens, taking total attendances in the women’s competition to more than 1 million.

It is a stage Capsey continues to relish. This year, she hit back-to-back fifties in the first two matches and celebrated her 20th birthday mid-tournament with a win against Spirit at the Oval.

Eliminators (at Kia Oval, Saturday)

Women: Oval Invincibles v London Spirit (2.15pm)

Men: Birmingham Phoenix v Southern Brave (6pm)

Finals (at Lord's, Sunday)

Women: Welsh Fire v Invincibles or Spirit (2.15pm)

Men: Oval Invincibles v Phoenix or Brave (6pm)

She has also been getting in on the action as the captain and wicketkeeper Lauren Winfield-Hill’s unofficial deputy, using her experience of leading Surrey age-group sides: “I’ve been a little bit more in the know so that I can talk to the bowlers, and Lauren doesn’t have to keep running up and down.” Some are beginning to tout her as a future England captain.

Her main memory of that maiden 50 at Lord’s is the media storm which ensued: “A baptism of fire. I ended up having to do 10 or so interviews after the game. I’m an introvert, so that was a big thing for me. You always have that kind of fear in your head when you’re that age: ‘Don’t say the wrong thing!’

“But it probably did me a favour. I definitely wouldn’t have played for England so soon without it – I wouldn’t have had the platform to show what I can do.”

She is a little more accustomed to the limelight these days, having played in a home Commonwealth Games, a T20 World Cup and repeating her Hundred feat with a breathtaking innings at Lord’s in last summer’s Women’s Ashes. She also attracted a £75,000 price tag in both editions of the Women’s Premier League and was a platinum-level signing for Melbourne Stars in the 2023 WBBL. She describes being a professional cricketer as “the best job in the world” – but admits it has its downsides.

Her career-best 67 against New Zealand at Canterbury in July broke an 11-month period in which she failed to score an international half-century – a drought which led some to question her temperament. It stung. “It’s amazing when good things are being said and everything’s great, but then people write things and they’re not within the environment, they don’t necessarily know exactly what’s being said and that’s when it becomes a bit frustrating,” she says.

“Everyone speaks about this tricky period, but when you’re playing international cricket from a young age, there was always going to be that transition phase where I got out cheaply and had to adapt my game.”

She has made the decision to stop engaging with it. “I’m not listening to outside noise. I don’t read anything that’s written about me – I don’t need to. I’m pretty happy, pretty content. I’m playing cricket in front of thousands of people and getting to travel the world. I just want to enjoy it. When I enjoy it, I play a lot better.”

There remains one unanswered question a bit closer to home. In 2025, women’s domestic sides will transition away from regions back into counties, but Capsey – who has played for Surrey since she was eight and describes The Oval as “my second home” – has not yet confirmed where she will play next season. “I haven’t had a conversation with Surrey yet, but I’d really like to,” she says. “To be able to be part of the new Surrey women’s team would be an honour.”

Whether or not she can help Invincibles win a third Women’s Hundred title this weekend, Surrey might want to think about picking up the phone pretty soon: the chance to sign a once-in-a-generation talent like Capsey doesn’t come around too often.