Alice Capsey interview: I have been worked out – but the fun part is how you adapt

Alice Capsey feels she is emerging from the first little funk of her fledgling career - Getty Images/Alex Davidson

On the wall of the Kia Oval that borders Harleyford Road, a busy route for London buses, cars and bikes, there is a vast mural of Alice Capsey.

This, for Capsey, is “crazy”. It is easy to forget that she is still just 19. She has been a full international for almost two years, but almost exactly nine years before her England debut she was at the Oval as a wide-eyed primary school girl watching Surrey’s men – who had Jon Lewis, now her head coach, in their ranks (two overs, none for 18 in an easy win against Kent).

These days she does not need to go to a men’s game at the Oval to watch cricket; women’s teams now play there regularly unlike in 2013. Last summer she played for England in the Ashes at the Oval, and in July they are back there, for a T20 against New Zealand for which more than 17,000 tickets have already been sold.

“I distinctly remember loving watching Jason Roy bat and how far he could hit it,”she tells Telegraph Sport. “It’s crazy to think I’ve gone through the system, all the support they’ve given me, and I’m here now, playing for my country in front of those same fans at the Oval.

“The big grounds, big crowds. Over the last 12 months we have shown that we deserve to play in those stadiums, which is amazing. Playing for England there last summer, in my first Ashes, was a bit of a pinch me moment to be honest. It shows we’re going to the next level.

“I actually feel really fortunate with the timing of my career. I have always been just about the right age to get involved in these big events. It’s really exciting to be part of that evolution.”

On Thursday, England start their one-day international summer against Pakistan, who they have already beaten 3-0 in a T20 series. Capsey is no guarantee to start the series, having not yet cracked ODI cricket. She says she feels she is emerging from the first little funk on what might have appeared a seamless rise, through the regional system and the Hundred to international and franchise cricket, all while being a teenager.

“I really want to get more experience in ODI cricket,” she says. “Obviously in the last couple of years I have played a lot of T20, but not much 50-over cricket. I am still trying to work out how my game best fits ODIs, and it’s an interesting one. I’ve proved to myself in T20 that I can bat in a lot of different positions. It’s finding what tempo I want to go at when I bat. Over the last year I’ve not been completely clear about how I want to go about it.

“I am so young I’m still trying to figure out my game. A lot of people after 2021 and 2022 just expect me to take it by storm and consistently score runs.”

Capsey admits that, at times, the expectation attached to being considered a prodigy has been hard to handle, and led to her being “worked out”.

“I do a bit,” she says, when asked if she feels old before her time. “I’ve played a lot of high-pressure games – that comes with responsibility and expectation. The more you play in those games the better you get at performing in them. I am still only 19.

“Coming into international cricket at 17, there is that outside noise that people almost expect you to hit the ground running and continue it. The beauty of international cricket is that when you come in, no one knows who you are. But they work you out. That is the fun part, how you adapt and develop. I am going through that stage at the moment.

Capsey is stumped by Pakistan's Muneeba Ali - PA/Bradley Collyer

“Across 2023 I found myself getting frustrated about that, frustrated that I wasn’t performing how I’d like. I have had some really honest conversations with the support staff, and Lewy [Lewis] and Heather [Knight, the captain] reminding myself of how young I am, that I’m at the start of my career and not to put too much pressure on myself.

“I go in waves. In 2021 I was such an introvert, and I really enjoyed no one really knowing who I was. As I burst on the scene there was a lot of hype around me, but I was fortunate that all the talk was positive because I had two very successful seasons. But as a pro athlete that can’t happen every year. Last year it hit me, and I had some injuries, and I found it hard. That’s where the support staff and my family have been so great, reminding me of how young I am, bringing me back to the facts of it. It’s others’ jobs to comment on us, but whether that’s positive or negative, you can’t let it affect you.”

Her route back to her best, she believes, is to “re-find” her attacking instincts. Do not bet against her having done so by the time she returns to the Oval in July.

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