Alice Capsey has thrown her hat into the ring to become England’s first-choice T20I wicketkeeper, says head coach Charlotte Edwards, who also calls for a heightened focus on Test cricket ahead of 2027.
Reflecting on a busy 2026 summer that saw England finish as runners‑up in the home T20 World Cup and host the inaugural women’s Test at Lord’s, Edwards noted her key takeaways span both extremes of the sport.
Capsey’s appearance as a stand‑in for Amy Jones during England’s ODI series sweep over Ireland – wrapped up at Worcester on Sunday – was deemed a success and has earmarked her for a more regular role, especially in T20 cricket.“You’ve all seen how well she’s kept wickets this series,” Edwards said after England’s 114‑run victory in the third ODI. “The idea was to gauge her level. I genuinely see a real opportunity for her in T20 cricket, and I’ve been extremely pleased with her 50‑over keeping as well.”
“From the outset I’ve wanted healthy competition for spots, and that’s a positive for the squad,” she added. “Capsey has certainly raised her hand, and I’m delighted with her performances.”
In the opener she made an unbeaten 41 from 40 balls, while Sophia Dunkley and Maia Bouchier put on a century‑opening stand; Capsey also took a catch. On Sunday she effected two stumpings – one off a Ryana MacDonald‑Gay bouncer that dismissed Rebecca Stokell – and produced several other neat pieces of work behind the stumps.
Their batting records are closely matched. At 22, Capsey is 11 years younger than Jones and averages 21.03 in T20Is at a strike rate of 121.87, versus Jones’s 20.2 average and 121.98 strike rate.
Charlie Dean, who again stepped in as captain while Nat Sciver‑Brunt recovers from a calf injury picked up early in the summer, was also impressed by Capsey’s wicket‑keeping.“She looks like she keeps week in, week out,” Dean remarked. “She was neat and never seemed out of her depth, which I found very impressive.”
“She’s a huge talent and can turn her hand to anything,” Dean continued. “She understandably entered the series a little nervous, but she’s done an excellent job for us.”
Meanwhile, a heavy loss to India in the Test exposed England’s weaknesses heading into next year’s Ashes, chiefly a shortage of red‑ball preparation.
“I’m really happy with where the team’s at. It’s been a good summer. We’ve seen some real highlights. We’ve seen some lowlights as well. But overall, I’m really happy coming out of the summer and I feel there’s been some big improvements made”
Charlotte Edwards
Although the India Test followed the T20 World Cup final by just five days, Edwards refused to treat it as an excuse and intends to advocate for intra‑squad red‑ball fixtures in place of some white‑ball county games early next season.
“Our Test cricket has been the biggest lesson for me,” Edwards said. “It was a gruelling four‑day match straight after the World Cup, and we went in unprepared – that’s a fact, not an excuse. We clearly need to improve in that area.”
“With a huge Ashes series looming next summer, where the opening match is a Test, we will shift our focus to red‑ball cricket from December through February and into the English summer.”
“We may need to pull certain players from county duty, especially as we have a few best‑vs‑best encounters scheduled. To maximise our chances in that Test, we must play more red‑ball cricket – that is definitely the plan.”
Edwards also said she will urge counties to schedule longer, red‑ball games.
“There’s a lot to learn from it,” she added. “It doesn’t need to be an eight‑ or ten‑match series; even two or three games spread over an English summer would benefit both the team and the individual players. There’s plenty to gain from four‑day cricket.”
The first women’s Test at Lord’s did not go England’s way•ECB via Getty Images
Even with some off‑season red‑ball work in the pipeline, the February Champions Trophy will keep the spotlight on T20 cricket.
After the Champions Trophy’s shift from Sri Lanka to India, Edwards said she remains hopeful that England’s preparatory tour of Sri Lanka will proceed, and she highlighted several other positives from the summer.
All‑rounders Freya Kemp and Dani Gibson, who slid back into action smoothly after lengthy backs‑injury layoffs, along with Dean’s leadership and Dunkley’s resilience during a testing season, featured prominently on her praise list.
Dunkley was awarded Player of the Series against Ireland after leading the run‑scorers with a fifty in the opener and a career‑best 119 off 119 balls in the third match.
At the T20 World Cup Dunkley featured in only three matches, scoring 57 off 37 balls in a Player‑of‑the‑Match effort against Scotland during her first spell replacing the injured Sciver‑Brunt. She also made an unbeaten 49 versus New Zealand before stepping aside for Sciver‑Brunt in the semi‑final and final. Having not appeared in an ODI since last year’s World Cup – where she batted in the middle order – she returned to fine form.
“I’m really pleased with where the team stands,” Edwards said. “It’s been a good summer – we’ve enjoyed real highlights, endured some lowlights, but overall I’m happy with the progress we’ve made.”
“We set out to sweep Ireland 3‑0 and we achieved that. We’ve also nurtured a few players and handed out opportunities, making this a very positive finish to the summer.”
In the Ireland series, Issy Wong made a splash with a five‑wicket haul in the second match, having spent the T20 World Cup on the bench.
She and England will face tougher opposition next year. Although the hosts suffered a batting collapse – losing five wickets for 31 runs in just 6.1 overs in the final Ireland match – Edwards’ readiness to experiment shows she is keen to broaden her options, a trait that will be vital against India and Australia in the months ahead.
