“I’m Surrey through and through and I love playing there,” says Alice Capsey, who is returning to her home ground as England face New Zealand on Saturday evening at The Kia Oval.
It’s a ground that Capsey has grown up attending, being a regular at Surrey men’s Vitality Blast matches when she was a part of the Surrey pathway system.
An image of a young Alice in the JM Finn Stand and posing for a picture with Ebony Rainford-Brent went viral in April.
“That photo of me and Ebs is amazing,” she says. “It’s a nice way for me to look back for me personally to see that little girl in the crowd who wanted to play on The Oval and wanted to be out there to now playing a number of games there!”
Saturday’s match against New Zealand will be England’s first match in south London since last July’s memorable night against Australia.
England went to the Oval 6-0 down after falling to narrow defeat in the Test match at Trent Bridge and the opening T20 at Edgbaston.
For Alice, it was much more than just another international T20 match. It was her first England game at her home ground. Over 20,000 poured into the Kia Oval hoping to see England get one over the all-dominant Australia team.
It was a night that people who attended won’t be quick to forget. The decibel levels rose with every Australian wicket taken, until the penultimate ball of the chase when it became apparent that the touring side could not mathematically win the game.
The roar of the crowd could be felt on the pitch. Capsey recalls: “The crowd is always incredible there and it definitely didn’t disappoint in that game as well!”
England will be going to Saturday’s match with a lead after victories on the south coast at Southampton and Hove. Capsey smashed a vital 15-ball 28 in Tuesday’s rain-shortened victory at Hove.
Looking ahead to Saturday, she says: “To put the Three Lions and represent England has always been a dream of mine, so to do that again is something I don’t take lightly.
“I’m really looking forward to getting back out there in front of the best crowd and putting on a performance.”
With it being a home game, lots of Alice’s friends and family will be in the stands this Saturday.
“It’s going to be really nice to have more friends and family to play in front of,” she adds.
“It will be a really cool experience and one that the whole England team are looking forward to!”
