Ahead of England's T20I series finale against New Zealand, Alice Capsey spoke to Wisden.com, to discuss her international summer and cross-format ambitions.

By the time she came out to bat against New Zealand at Canterbury in the third T20I of the series, Alice Capsey was starting to come out of a run-slump which had lasted over a year. Of her previous 18 T20I innings dating back to February 2023, 11 of them had ended before she reached double figures. At the beginning of the summer, she came in for criticism after England’s opening T20I against Pakistan where, in an attempt to find the boundary, she’d skied a catch to Sidra Ameen to leave England 11-3.

However, throughout the series against New Zealand, there were signs of positive change. In the second T20I at Hove, an explosive 28 off 15 balls in a rain-shortened innings was a glimpse of how she’d burst into public consciousness as a 17-year-old. That innings set England up for a decisive victory. Her innings two days later at Canterbury though, showed the versatility and maturity her critics had been calling for.

Having come in for the second ball of the innings, Capsey largely played the anchor role with those around her looking more frenetic. When England lost Sophia Dunkley and Nat Sciver-Brunt in consecutive deliveries, they needed the kind of stabilisation they’d previously lacked to steady the chase. Capsey provided that, allowing Amy Jones to bed in while punishing loose balls and rotating the strike. When England got over the line, she was 67* off 60 balls - her highest score in international cricket, and also her fourth-slowest of 15 T20I scores of 20 or more.

“It was a different innings to some of my other ones in T20 cricket,” Capsey tells Wisden.com. “Being not out at the end is one of the things I’m quite proud of… To be able to go through all of those emotions of what T20 cricket is and be there at the end and get the win, which is the most important thing, was really pleasing for me.

“I’ve done a lot of work over the last year around what my role is and how to get better at that role. I know I’ve got out quite cheaply across my career so far at times, and people have questioned what I’ve been doing and that I need to develop that reading of the game a bit better, and I’m definitely doing that a lot more now. I was really pleased with being able to read the game and know what the team needed from me at the time. It was definitely up there with one of my favourites [among England innings], not just because of the boundary hitting which previously it probably would have been.”

Still only 19 years old and now with two years of international cricket under her belt, it’s been a steep learning curve for Capsey. After her initial success for England, a half-century in her third T20I innings and averaging more than 30 from her first ten outings in the format, breaking into international cricket across formats has been tougher. Despite having T20I 33 caps, her ODI appearances have been more sporadic, and she has yet to score a half-century in the format.

Unlike in the T20I side, where she has a well-established role at No.3, Capsey has batted in five different positions across her 13 ODI innings, her better returns this summer against Pakistan coming down the order. She scored 44 batting at No.5 in the opening match of the series, and an unbeaten 35 at No.7 in the third.

“I’ve played a hell of a lot of T20 cricket over the last two years so I feel a lot more experienced,” says Capsey. “Having that defining role, I’ve played it in T20 cricket my whole England career and in franchise tournaments so I’m really comfortable with what the expectations are and what my plan is when I go out to bat and I feel pretty calm and collected. I’ve played most roles in the ODI team and I think that comes from a lack of experience. I haven’t played much and I’m still trying to find out the best way for me to play 50-over cricket and be successful in it for the team.

“If I didn’t have that in and out of the ODI team and those conversations, then I probably wouldn’t be where I am with my T20 game so it’s all relative. I also haven’t played a Test match and not having that constant, ‘I’m going to be in the team’ is a really good driver and it makes you really hungry when you do get the opportunity to go out and perform and put a stamp on the game. It’s probably added to my competitiveness a little bit. When I’ve gone out there on the pitch during the ODIs I’ve wanted to prove that I am good enough to be in this ODI team and I want to make myself a permanent name on the team sheet.”

Part of Capsey’s changing role also includes her usage as a part-time spinner. Part of England’s luxury in both quality and number of specialist spinners means there’s less need for her off-breaks. So far, she’s sent down two overs in the nine T20Is England have played this summer, which have still yielded two wickets.

“It’s something I work on a lot in training and want to get better at,” says Capsey. “I want to be a better spinner and down the line I want to be known as a full-on allrounder. With the conditions in Bangladesh, we don’t really know what we’re going to be faced with but if I do get thrown the ball then I want to be in a place where I can go out there comfortably and confidently and take the opportunities where they come from Heather [Knight].

“We’ve got three of the best spinners in the world in Sophie Ecclestone, Charlie Dean and Sarah Glenn. They’re staples within our T20 team and our success. So if I’m not having to bowl then happy days because I’m probably chasing fewer runs with the bat. It’s one of those that I’d love to bowl but if England are winning then I’m not too bothered.”

Capsey has ambitions beyond white-ball cricket too.

“I want to play Test match cricket,” she says, bluntly. “It’s the pinnacle of the sport, it doesn’t really get much bigger than playing for England in a Test match. I know from being around the girls during the Test match in India, how much of an enjoyable but tough week it was.”

Capsey has yet to make her Test debut but has been in England’s squads for their two most recent red-ball matches. While there’s no home Test match for England this summer, they will play two Tests within six weeks over the winter, one scheduled against South Africa in December before a marquee Ashes Test at the MCG.

“I’ll definitely be doing everything I can to put myself in the hat for getting selected for that,” says Capsey. “We’ve got a busy winter ahead so I’m not looking too far ahead and my focus is on that T20 World Cup and getting picked to go out to Bangladesh. But a Test match at the MCG - it doesn’t get much bigger than that.”

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