Alice Capsey says she will look to make the most of her extra WBBL games with an eye on the upcoming Ashes in January
Capsey eyes big finish to WBBL|10 after England axing
Alice Capsey says her aggressive innings in the Melbourne Derby was "a long time coming", as she looks to send a message to England selectors through the remainder of Weber WBBL|10.
Capsey smacked 33 from 15 deliveries against the Stars at the CitiPower Centre on Saturday, her best return for her new club after scores of 4, 0, 14, 9 and 0 in her first five games.
It came less than 24 hours after the England and Wales Cricket Board announced Capsey had been left out of their T20I squad to tour South Africa later this month, following a lean T20 World Cup campaign.
The 20-year-old, who has made a bigger impact with the ball taking 12 wickets this season, said she hoped that innings was the spark she needed to finish WBBL|10 in style with the bat.
"It felt really good, it’s felt like it's been a long time coming," Capsey told cricket.com.au on Saturday.
"I've been short of runs and I've been just really wanting to contribute to the batting performance for this team.
"To be able to do that, and just to create a little bit of momentum, especially with Wolf (Georgia Wareham) during that Power Surge, just to get us rolling.
"One of the most frustrating bits (is) I've felt really good in the nets.
"So it's nice to score some runs, and it's nice to hit some boundaries and feel that rhythm again out in the middle."
Capsey was left out of England’s 15-player T20I squad after a lackluster World Cup in the United Arab Emirates, where she scored 32 runs in four innings with a top score of 19.
But with the multi-format Ashes looming in January, she said she was determined to make the most of WBBL|10 to figure out how to thrive in Australian conditions – while also hopefully helping the club she has quickly made home reach finals for the first time since 2021.
"I haven't been consistent enough over the last 18 months for (England) in that number three role, which is a pivotal role in T20 cricket," Capsey said of the message she had received from coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight.
"Obviously, it's very disappointing to miss out ... there was a bit of disappointment and a bit of hurt, definitely, when I found out.
"But the way the Renegades girls have really got around me has been second to none.
"I've had pretty clear messaging from Jon and Heather around what I can do to get myself back into the squad.
"That'll be what my focus is, whilst also winning as many games as I possibly can for the Renegades.
"Every game that you play is a chance to show yourself and to put your best foot forward ... the way that this team is playing, and the brand of cricket that they want to play, it suits me down to the ground."
Capsey’s international omission at least has a silver lining for the Renegades, who will now have the England star for the entire regular season.
England players included in the T20 squad will need to arrive in South Africa on November 16, impacting the Thunder (Knight), Hurricanes (Danni Wyatt-Hodge), Scorchers (Amy Jones) and Sixers (Sophie Ecclestone).
Capsey was named in the ODI squad, which is due to fly to South Africa on November 27, so will miss finals if the Renegades progress.
"It's another opportunity to play in Australian conditions," Capsey said of her additional WBBL games.
"We’ve got an (Ashes) ODI here at Junction Oval, so I’ve just got more opportunities to develop my game so I have a better understanding of where it needs to be to score runs on these pitches.
"Every opportunity is a great opportunity, but the girls and the standard of WBBL is so high that you're constantly learning, which is amazing.
"I'd heard so many great things before, but the Renegades live up to how well spoken of they are as a team.
"It's just so much fun and there’s a lot of care and I can't speak highly enough."
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
REN
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.527 | 0 | 14 |
|
2
HEA
|
10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.384 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
THU
|
10 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 1 | -0.002 | 0 | 13 |
|
4
HUR
|
10 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.189 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
SCO
|
10 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | -0.171 | 0 | 9 |
|
6
SIX
|
10 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 1 | -0.477 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
STR
|
10 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | -0.357 | 0 | 7 |
|
8
STA
|
10 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | -0.205 | 0 | 5 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points