The Hundred: Alice Capsey shines again as Oval Invincibles beat London Spirit to boost hopes of eliminator qualification
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Capsey has Spirit skipper Knight caught for 34
The Hundred, Kia Oval |
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London Spirit 103-9 (100 balls): Beaumont 42 (34), Knight 34 (29); Kapp 2-12, Capsey 2-15 |
Oval Invincibles 107-2 (87 balls): Adams 37* (34), Kapp 23* (20) |
Oval Invincibles win by eight wickets |
Teenager Alice Capsey shone again as Oval Invincibles strengthened their grip on second place in the women's Hundred by comprehensively beating local rivals London Spirit by eight wickets.
Capsey, who only celebrated her 17th birthday on Wednesday, backed up her fifty earlier in the tournament with two of the biggest wickets in women's cricket - England captain Heather Knight and West Indies international Deandra Dottin.
The dismissal of Knight sparked a remarkable Spirit collapse as they slipped from 80-1 after 61 balls to 103-9 from 100.
The Invincibles lost captain Dane van Niekerk for 13 early in their chase but comfortably eased to victory with 13 balls to spare.
They now have nine points, two more than Northern Superchargers and Trent Rockets in third and fourth respectively, with one game remaining.
Southern Brave have already secured top spot and an automatic route to the final, with the teams finishing in second and third competing in the eliminator for the chance to face them.
The Invincibles will guarantee progression by winning their final game on Monday but could be through before then if other results go their way.
Capsey changes the game
Invincibles induced a collapse to prevent Spirit posting a challenging total
Capsey continues to be one of the standout young players in The Hundred. She seems to love playing against London Spirit too.
She hit 59 against them earlier in the tournament at Lord's, but on this occasion it was her spin bowling which turned a game on its head.
Capsey returned to the attack with Knight and England opener Tammy Beaumont going well and dismissed Knight with her second delivery - the England captain caught off a top edge.
Capsey bowled 10 balls in a row and conceded just five runs. The Spirit's momentum had a player who is so young her mum had to give her official permission to play in the tournament.
Not content, she bowled Dottin, one of the most dangerous batters in the game, soon after.
"She doesn't let the game faze her when she has the bat or ball in her hand," said England World Cup winner Alex Hartley. "That shows the type of person she is."
There are already whispers that Capsey should be called into England's squad to play New Zealand next month. With Knight her first victim, Capsey could hardly have given a better-timed performance.
Are the Invincibles the team to stop the Brave?
There is no question Southern Brave have been the standout performers in the women's Hundred but this win was a reminder that the Invincibles are contenders.
There were three run outs - two of them direct hits - in a slick, efficient performance in the field where they did not buckle when Beaumont and Knight put on 76 runs for the second wicket.
Dean run out for one by Gibbs direct hit
With the ball they were boosted significantly by the fiery Shabnim Ismail, regarded as the quickest female bowler in the world, and her South Africa international team-mate Marizanne Kapp.
They have both been injured for much of the group stage but have returned at the perfect time.
Van Niekerk's failure could also help her side's hopes as other batters were given the chance spend time in the middle.
Overall it was close to a perfect win for the Invincibles. The Spirit, meanwhile, are not mathematically out of the eliminator equation but need a lot of results to go their way.
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