Tonight, the Kia Oval will play host not only to the opening match of the women’s Hundred, between Oval Invincibles and Northern Superchargers, but also to Alice Capsey’s de facto 18th birthday party.
“Practically all of my family and friends are at the game,” she tells Standard Sport, on her final day as a 17-year-old. “I feel like I’ve got a whole block of tickets that are supporting me, so I’m sure they’ll get a few drinks down them and get quite noisy.”
The catch, of course, is that Capsey is not really invited, more like booked in as the entertainment.
One of the breakout stars of last year’s inaugural Hundred, which she went into as an unknown 16-year-old, the Invincibles batter is now something approaching a headline act.
It was a sensational half-century against London Spirit on debut at Lord’s that announced the teenager’s arrival, after which she says — if you’ll pardon the pun — things “kind of went from zero to a hundred”.
“It was almost a bit overwhelming,” she says. “I had loads of different interviews and I was just like, ‘Oh my god, what am I doing?’ It was a bit of a shock to the system, but once I got thrown in I got used to it and it was actually really fun.
“I do feel like over the last year I’ve had to grow up quite quickly,” she adds, of what has a been a “whirlwind” 12 months that have taken her to Australia on an England ‘A’ tour, on to a full international debut against South Africa and, most recently, to the Commonwealth Games.
There have been plenty of friends’ 18th birthdays missed along the way, “a shame”, she says, before conceding: “It’s not really a hard decision when you’re missing them because you’re at the Commonwealths or in Australia.”
Ones to watch in women’s Hundred
Issy Wong (Birmingham Phoenix & England)
One of a number of graduates of the inaugural Hundred, players whose careers have accelerated off the back of impressive showings 12 months ago. The 20-year-old quick has made debuts for England across all formats this summer and impressed.
Jemimah Rodrigues (Northern Superchargers & India)
Rodrigues is one of three Indians playing in the Hundred. The stylish 21-year-old was Northern Superchargers’ top scorer last year, and recently described the Hundred as a “blessing” for her. Finished fifth in run charts at Commonwealth Games.
Sophie Ecclestone (Manchester Originals & England)
Quite simply the best bowler on the planet, Ecclestone sits top of both the T20 and ODI rankings. The 23-year-old took 21 wickets at this year’s World Cup, seven more than any other player, and a number of figures in the game have suggested she could easily play men’s first-class cricket.
Alana King (Trent Rockets & Australia)
As if the Australian behemoth needed more talent, King has enjoyed a major international breakthrough since arriving relatively late as a 26-year-old to torment England during the Ashes. Brings fiery entertainment as well as bamboozling leg-spin and took a ridiculous four for eight against Barbados last month.
It has not all been plain sailing, though.
Capsey tells of feeling increased pressure returning to domestic cricket for South East Stars this year with her reputation enhanced, finding an early season lack of form “quite stressful” and having to learn how to “park games if they hadn’t gone well”. But her experiences playing in front of sell-out crowds at Test grounds in last year’s Hundred have, Capsey believes, had a “massive impact” on her ability to take most of what has followed in her stride.
“Going into the T20 series to make my England debut and then the Commonwealth Games, in front of 17,000 people [at Edgbaston], that could be really overwhelming for someone who hasn’t done it,” she says.
“But young players like myself and Issy Wong, we were used to it. We didn’t have to deal with the nerves of playing in front of a crowd. I could worry about the nerves of making my debut or walking out for the first game of the Commonwealths with a black eye instead!”
England’s failure to make the podium in Birmingham was a disappointment, but Capsey was able to embrace the novel experience of cricket’s presence at a multi-sport event, mingling with beach volleyball players at the team hotel and going to watch athletics at the Alexandra Stadium.
Already, she has half-an-eye on cricket’s mooted inclusion at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, which look a long way away for most current players but not Capsey, who would still be just 23 and would class becoming an Olympian as “pretty cool”.
Tonight will be the first time a women’s Hundred game has occupied the headline slot of a double-header, with men taking the field first, meaning that by the time Capsey walks out to bat, The Oval will likely be full and rocking.
“Non-biased opinion, it is the best cricket ground in the country, in the world,” says the girl who made her Surrey debut at 14. It seems, therefore, the perfect place for her to celebrate another milestone.
