NICK HOWSON: This 18-year-old can affect both facets of the game but this was her best bowling performance yet in the women's Hundred
Alice Capsey has largely made her name in the women's Hundred with the bat, illuminated by that fifty at Lord's last summer.
As far as her bowling is concerned, when she was thrown the ball last season she regularly bowled a full allocation, taking 10 wickets and going at less than a run a ball.
But this felt like her most potent display yet, taking 3 for 15 in 20 balls - her second-best bowling figures in any form of senior cricket - as Birmingham Phoenix were downed at the Kia Oval.
This was a surface that required strategy to yield results. Bowling a length and using variations in pace were not necessary here. Keeping it simple, bowling wicket to wicket and allowing the batters to contribute to their own downfall was the name of the game.
The Oval Invincibles mastered this nearly from the outset and it was the middle overs from Capsey, Mady Villiers and Sophia Smale that pinned Phoenix back and laid the platform for victory.
Capsey epitomised the approach, keeping things simple and letting a skiddy surface do the work. The ball that got Eve Jones was hardly a jaffa but it got rid of the opener at a crucial time.
After impressing with the ball, Capsey had a license with the bat (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
It was a shorter ball that had earlier done for Amy Jones, who skewed one to Kira Chathli. Her 20 deliveries only went for two boundaries in the final set, which also included the third wicket as Sophie Molineux went across her stumps and missed a straight one.
"We were trying to keep it really simple, bowl full and straight at the stumps and almost if they miss we hit," the player of the match said at the post-game presentation.
"The fielders were absolutely amazing, they backed us up. We felt really good and the energy continued throughout the hundred balls which was great."
Highlighting how quickly players at this level develop, Capsey took her learnings from bowling into the second half of the game. She respected anything straight and went hard at balls pitching wide of the stumps.
Indeed, her only mistake of the entire afternoon came when she abandoned that approach and heaved a ball out to Amy Gordon at mid-on.
"I enjoy coming in after Lauren (Winfield-Hill) and (Suzie) Bates," she said of the chase, in which she contributed 20 as Invincibles got home with 13 balls to spare.
"They're amazing. They calm the nerves and get us off to a great start. It goes unnoticed but they really set us up today.
It has been a busy 2022 for Capsey (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
"For me, I have the freedom to hit the ball as hard as possible, but play with sensible risk. The backing I've got at the moment I am quite simple in how I want to go about it which is amazing."
Having started the year in Australia, gone to Spain for pre-season with South East Stars, made her senior international debut and played in the Commonwealth Games, it has been a busy schedule for the teenager. This was her 39th game of the year.
She had missed the defeat to Southern Brave earlier in the competition with a twisted ankle problem suffered in the opening game against Northern Superchargers but returned for the victory over Trent Rockets last week.
It was notable to see her omitted from the main part of the Invincibles warm-up in an effort to manage the injury, a sensible managing of her fitness.
"In the first game I had to come off and missed out on the second game," she added. "I am still not 100 per cent so it is about managing it and trying to give it as much rest as possible in a really quick, snappy tournament. I am managing it but it is getting better each day."
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