England beat Ireland to make it two wins from two at T20 World Cup; Alice Capsey hits 21-ball fifty as England reach target of 106 with 34 balls to spare after Ireland slump from 80-2 to 105 all out; Sophie Ecclestone takes three-wicket haul for second game running
Tuesday 14 February 2023 06:04, UK
Alice Capsey thumped a 21-ball fifty as England overcame an enterprising start from Ireland and a batting wobble of their own to secure a four-wicket win and make it two victories from two at the Women's T20 World Cup.
Capsey's half-century, the fastest by an Englishwoman in T20Is, the joint-quickest at the T20 World Cup, and the joint-third fastest by any female player in the format, helped her side to their target of 106 with 34 balls to spare after Ireland had folded from 80-2 to 105 all out in Paarl.
Capsey (51 off 22), picked up for £75,000 by Delhi Capitals in Monday's Women's Premier League auction, struck 10 fours and a six in her dashing knock, having come to the crease in the first over of the chase after Sophia Dunkley holed out to mid-on.
England lost five wickets for 33 runs once Capsey was dismissed before Katherine Sciver-Brunt leathered the winning boundary through the covers as her team backed up their seven-wicket demolition of West Indies at the same venue on Saturday.
Ireland, helped by Danni Wyatt dropping Gaby Lewis (36 off 37) on four, were 41-1 after the powerplay and 80-2 in the 13th over after electing to bat, only to then lose eight wickets for 25 runs.
Sophie Ecclestone (3-13) - on the day she was sold for £180,000 in the WPL auction - triggered the collapse when she struck from successive deliveries, starting by removing opener and top-scorer Lewis.
England opener Capsey, 18, laced the second and third balls she faced for four; smoked three boundaries in a row in the fourth over; and then went four, four, six in the sixth as she mixed power, placement and innovation prior to being caught at long-off.
England cantered to 69-1 in the powerplay but then lost Capsey, Wyatt (16), Nat Sciver-Brunt (5), Amy Jones (12) and Heather Knight (14) - three of those wickets falling to Cara Murray (3-15) - as they continued to attack.
The mini-collapse was not costly, though, as England moved closer to a semi-final spot as they pursue a first T20 World Cup title in 14 years.
The WPL auction - at which Nat Sciver-Brunt was purchased by Mumbai Indians for £320k - dominated conversation before the game and was still taking place while the match was going on.
England's minds were perhaps on that early on against Ireland and their opponents took advantage - Lewis and Amy Hunter (15) adding 35 for the first wicket in five overs for a side who had beaten tournament favourites Australia in a warm-up match last week.
Off-spinner Charlie Dean (2-26) picked up the first wicket with Hunter caught at deep midwicket by Dunkley and leg-spinner Sarah Glenn (3-19) snared the second when she bowled Orla Prendergarst (17 off 15), one ball after Prendergarst had lofted her over extra-cover for a sublime four.
But the innings really changed when Lewis top-edged left-arm spinner Ecclestone to Wyatt at deep backward square midway through the 13th over - Wyatt making no mistake this time after an earlier drop at point.
When Ecclestone trapped Eimear Richardson lbw next ball, the collapse was on with Ireland's final seven batters failing to make double figures.
Ecclestone bagged three wickets for the second game running - yorking Ireland skipper Laura Delany (12) with the final ball of her spell - and also claimed a fine diving catch at mid-off to remove Louise Little (8) before Capsey and England's batters went to work.
Nat Sciver-Brunt fell cheaply in the chase but did pass the milestone of 2,000 T20 international runs.
Player of the Match, Alice Capsey…
"I'm loving it. Playing for England in a World Cup is pretty much the dream, isn't it?
"The plan is really clear, it's to put pressure on bowlers at every opportunity, and the message we've had from [head coach] Jon Lewis really suits us.
"It's been brilliant and I'm loving playing under him. We're high on confidence, we're all really enjoying it and I think that's showing."
England captain Heather Knight...
"I think Ireland came at us quite hard [with the bat] and it was good with the way the spinners brought it back again. It was a pitch that was really conducive to spin and we've got three world-class spinners in our line-up who are doing a great job for us.
"Then Alice [Capsey] broke the back of the chase and made it easier. We made hard work of it at the end but it's still two points. You need to take the aggressive option in T20 and be free. That's a bit of a mantra for us.
"We want to take the game on and we've got the depth in our side to really go hard at the top, attack the powerplay and put the opposition under pressure."
Ireland skipper Laura Delany...
"We are obviously disappointed to come off with a loss but fair play to England, they outplayed us in both innings.
"There are definitely some positives to take from the first innings and likewise with the ball. But we want to put in big partnerships, that's something we're going to target.
"Our top three have batted with great intent and the next step is making sure we can keep that momentum going and give the middle order a platform to kick on at the end. We've taken confidence from the games we've played. We just want to keep building."
England return to action against India on Saturday, with the game in Gqeberha starting at 1pm. Ireland's next match is versus Pakistan in Cape Town on Wednesday, at 5pm.
Tuesday's sole match at the T20 World Cup sees defending champions and tournament favourites Australia - who trounced New Zealand by 97 runs in their opening fixture - play Bangladesh in Gqeberha from 5pm.
