Capsey gets the assignment right in 'risk or reward' play

When Alice Capsey's name went under the hammer, at the inaugural Women's Premier League player auction in mid February, Mumbai Indians were the first to raise their paddle for an opening bid of INR 30 lakh. Head coach Charlotte Edwards had obviously closely followed the career of the 18-year-old all-round prodigy.

Jonathan Batty, head coach of the Hundred side Oval Invincibles that Capsey is a part of, was over at Delhi Capitals' table that jumped in almost on cue. In a short-lived but intense bidding war, Capitals had the capital to outbid MI and sign the teenager for a hammer-down price of INR 75 Lakh.

Roughly 5100 miles away at the time, in Paarl, Capsey was busy rewriting the record of England Women's fastest T20I century (21 balls) in a World Cup group game against Ireland.

Four of Capsey's six outings with the bat in the WPL 2023 had seen the Meg Lanning-led think tank backing her naturally aggressive style of play, and using it as a counterattack in the face of early wicket(s) in the powerplay. It's a role similar to what she has been entrusted with in the England setup.

Capsey famously came in on the third ball of the 155 chase in the reverse fixture against RCB, launched a flurry of boundaries to quickly change the tone of batting powerplay for DC in her 19-minute cameo worth 34 before exiting the scene at 45/2 in the fifth over.

Then, most recently, even in a modest chase of 110, DC sent her in as their pinch hitter and Capsey's 17-ball unbeaten knock of 38, laden with five sixes, ensured the team's nine-wicket win over Mumbai Indians was completed in just nine overs to pip them to the top of the points table with better NRR.

MI had climbed back in under 24 hours. But Delhi began their chase of 139 against UP Warriorz knowing they had nearly full quota of overs (19.4) to achieve it in - on an unseasonal rain-soaked outfield and a pitch not exactly conducive to fluent strokeplay - in order to achieve superior NRR yet again. And another half-century stand between Lanning and Shafali Verma had them well on target before Shabnim Ismail sent Lanning and Jemimah Rodrigues packing in the same over.

DC's innings wobbling a bit at 70/3 by the close of seventh over, Capsey arrived in her typical style. Taking a couple of singles to get a lay of the land, she went on to ease the pressure in the middle almost immediately with two consecutive lofted shots down the ground on either side of the strip and then capped off the over from Sophie Ecclestone with a cheeky reverse sweep for a third boundary that left even her English teammate chuckling.

In the very next over, she unsettled teenaged Parshavi Chopra by skipping down and heaving a generously flighted delivery from the legspinner to wide long-on for a six. Deepti Sharma tossed one up and Capsey went down on a knee to slog-sweep it hard into the midwicket ropes, moving on to 27 in just 16 deliveries.

This little counterattack afforded Marizanne Kapp - who was hanging in there at a strike-rate of just a touch over 40 - some extra time to adapt to the slowness of the pitch. And once the South African found her mojo back, Capsey ensured to keep turning the strike over.

She eventually finished with 34 off 31 balls after a brief yet entertaining battle with the returning Ecclestone - Capsey defended three off four good length balls from the World No. 1 T20 bowler in an excellent 14th over before eventually being lured out of her crease off one such tossed up delivery, for a stumping dismissal.

Nonetheless, the fourth-wicket pair had put DC on the brink of the direct road to WPL final with a calculated 60-run stand, uncharacteristic to their natural style but also of paramount importance given the conditions and quality of the opposition.

"I found a little bit more responsibility on myself to stay in and take us through, take it deep. Because we knew that if we - me and Kappie - formed a partnership, we [had] pretty good chances to win it," Capsey, who earlier picked a three-fer, said.

"It was definitely up there and obviously I started off pretty quickly but then the UP Warriorz bowled really well. Their spinners started to turn and it got quite tricky. So no, it was definitely a grinder instead of yesterday where the ball was coming on a little nicer and that was just a bit of fun. All of these things [roles] are pleasing if you can put in a match-winning performance for the team," she added.

"The way I play, it's risk or reward. I'm a very aggressive kind of player and I like to put pressure on the bowlers. It's not necessarily hitting all the fours and sixes it's just about getting myself in a position where I can get the team in the best position possible as quick as possible. And I've been used in a lot of different roles, so changing the mindset around when I go in, that changes things... it's just about making that percentage of the times it comes off higher, which I'm learning.

"I'm learning how to develop an innings, and that's why an experience like this has been really crucial, just being around Meg Lanning and people like that has been brilliant," she signed off.

Capsey may not exactly be topping the run charts at WPL, but for an 18-year-old to be occupying a vital foreign player spot in the XI ahead of an experienced head like Laura Harris speaks volumes of the faith the management has in her potential. And even at that young an age, Capsey sure has understood the assignment.