Capsey, who made her England debut as a 17-year-old in 2022, is considered one of the brightest talents in the women’s game but is in the midst of a prolonged slump in form. She achieved a top score of 19 in three innings in the World Cup and has since made a further 27 runs in five innings for Melbourne Renegades in the Women’s Big Bash League.
The tour is seen as a vital opportunity for England to reset their ambitions against a team that has now reached each of the last two T20 World Cup finals.
Selected players, minus those currently competing in the Big Bash, have been training at Loughborough in preparation for the series, with the T20I team leaving for South Africa on November 16, followed by the ODI and Test teams in November. 27.
Knight’s team had entered the World Cup as one of the leading contenders after an unbeaten summer at home, but came under intense criticism after their early exit, most notably from former World Cup winner turned on commentator, Alex Hartley, who called to question the team’s fitness levels.
In an interview with The cricketer This week, however, England head coach Jon Lewis responded to that suggestion.
“We work incredibly hard on our physical preparation, the players are in very good shape. We individualize very well around people’s programs.
“I wish Alex in particular would quantify exactly what she means by that, because I just don’t see it. She needs to be more specific about what she’s saying. There are many parts to fitness, and you have to be specific.” Be careful when calling an ineligible team – we are not an ineligible cricket team.
“I’ve seen the team training at Loughborough and we’re making progress across the board. There are a lot of different parts of fitness. It was a very broad statement and I don’t agree at all with what he said. I’m more than happy to chat to her about it and be more specific.”
While important in itself, the tour of South Africa is seen as a vital stage for England ahead of their next key target, the Women’s Ashes in Australia in January.
Connor also addressed the intense scrutiny the players had been under after the World Cup, and the feeling that they had collapsed under the pressure, particularly in a key period on the pitch following Knight’s injury in Dubai.
“We welcome the same degree of scrutiny on performance as an England men’s team, or equivalent, but the learning curve is steep,” Connor said.
“It’s fascinating from a performance perspective that we came into that tournament the way we did, and New Zealand came into that tournament with 10 consecutive losses and won it.
“It’s tremendously disappointing that we didn’t get to the semi-finals. But obviously we’ll see how we develop that resilience to pressure, and decision-making and skill retention under pressure. Because, for 45 minutes, we managed to lose our skills and our path.”
England Women T20I Squad: Heather Knight (captain), Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Bess Heath, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Paige Scholfield, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt- hodge
England Women’s ODI Team: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Alice Capsey, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt- hodge
England Women’s Test Match Team: Heather Knight (captain), Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Kate Cross, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Amy Jones, Freya Kemp, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Danni Wyatt-Hodge
