INTERVIEW
Follow UsSophie Ecclestone is as tall as you visualize her to be.
If anything, she is taller than what you visualized. And her story is long and fascinating, and it involves her, not bowling errrr left-arm spin.
When Ecclestone started her career, she was far away from bowling left-arm spin. With her height, she would have nearly become a daunting pacer, but then, at an Under-11s game, she realised that she was pretty good at left-arm spin.
And she stuck to it. Slowly but steadily, Ecclestone improved upon that gifted skill, growing in composure and stature. So much so, at just 20, she became the World No.1 ranked bowler in the shortest format.
“I enjoy my cricket. Being No.1 is great, it was a long-time goal for me, and for that to happen at 20 is surreal. Hopefully, I can sustain that and keep enjoying my cricket,” a modest Ecclestone told Cricket.com from UP Warriorz’ camp in Bangalore.
Ecclestone’s biggest strength is not her wicket-taking ability; it is just a byproduct of what she does best - containing runs. The Lancashire-born cricketer is as miser as it comes on the field, with an economy of just 5.86 in WT20Is.
Not just that, in the history of WT20Is, no bowler has a lower average than Ecclestone (15), having played at least 50 games at the highest level amongst the top nine teams.
NONE!!!
Not only has she done well in a format where bowlers are hanging like meat waiting to be grilled, but she does it on grounds smaller in comparison to men’s cricket.
“Yeah, it (T20 as a format) is very batter-friendly, especially with the small boundaries as a spinner. It is a big challenge for me, but I take it on the chin, and I love to challenge myself against the best players in the world,” she said.
There’s more than what meets the eye with Ecclestone. She’s a trump card that England are so blessed to have. Not only does she ace across overall metrics, but she also has numbers that are unbelievable in overs that you wouldn’t associate with spinners.
At the death-overs in WT20Is, the 24-year-old averages 10.3, with 49 wickets. It is a phase where batters usually go gung-ho ballistic crazy, but not against her. What’s the magic?
“But I have worked on the change of pace and also on estimating what the batters do. I usually bowl yorkers at the death, so it is about keeping things simple and knowing my basics,” she said of her death-over skills.
But there’s one place where Ecclestone’s skills did not come to the forefront: in India. Earlier in the one-off Test in the subcontinent, the left-arm spinner was all over the place, with figures of 5/167. While there was an evident struggle, the 24-year-old addressed that as a ‘learning curve’ for the national team.
It was England’s first-ever Test in Asian conditions for nearly two decades.
“It was very exciting to play Test cricket in India. It is a very big experience for us as a team. It was hard work, and yeah, obviously, the Indians were too good for us. So many things for us (England) to improve on,” Ecclestone spoke about the Indian challenge.
It wasn’t the only challenge she had to encounter in the year, having dislocated her shoulder at The Hundred, derailing her plans for almost the rest of the year before making a comeback in the T20I series in India.
“It was quite nice to get time off (shoulder surgery) from the game. I missed the WBBL (Women’s Big Bash League) through my injury. It was nice to get away from the game; we usually don’t get time away. Cricket is 12 months a year, so it is great to be back now,” she said of the missed time from the game.
“Back now” also means back to grind for Ecclestone, with a huge T20 World Cup around the corner. It is a competition England last won in its primitive days back in 2009 when they were the hosts. Since then, the English side has reached the final twice, but the right result never went their way.
With a great core this time around and conditions where Ecclestone could be in her ‘beast mode’, England are certainly a strong contender, and she doesn’t want to waste any opportunities to learn in these conditions.
“It is great to play in the sub-continent conditions before the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. Playing a lot more T20s as a preparation for that. I think it is just to keep learning about the game and learning more about the players you come up against,” she added.
At the Women’s Premier League, Ecclestone will be thrown the ball in equally challenging conditions but with one exception: a different leader, Alyssa Healy. But the rules are the same: Ecclestone gets to choose her field and has the freedom to execute her plans without too much questioning.
“Eh, I think it is very interesting. I think Alyssa Healy gives me a lot of confidence just to go out and do what I want, just like Heather (Knight). I think they let me do what I want to do, let me set my own field. They really back me a lot, both of them,” she added.
Her England and Warriorz coach, Jon Lewis, trusts hers completely on the cricketing field, be it with the bat or the ball. Her ability with the bat, too, is one for the lookout, given how she has turned a corner around over the last few years with the bat. However, for Ecclestone, it is all about keeping things simple.
“100%, it comes from trust. Every time she has walked out to the cricket field for me, she has done incredibly well. I know that Sophie is an incredible talent and has a huge amount of ability,” Warriorz and England head coach Jon Lewis was in full praise for Sophie.
In this case, all Sophie aims to do is hit a few sixes and get the crowd behind her.
“I think I have sadly decided to be the finisher of games. I think I have finished a few last year, and I love to go in the death overs and try to hit a few sixes and steal the crowd. But I wish I could continue that this year, keep working and keep helping UP Warriorz win a few games,” Ecclestone said.
But away from the interview, Ecclestone navigates through the room's corridor like she’s back in Chester with such comfort. A few inches from where the interview happened, the tall spinner finds her other partners-in-crime, Deepti Sharma, Vrinda Dinesh, Kiran Navgire, and Shweta Sehrawat.
Also Read: Vrinda Dinesh - 'Looking forward to the vibe at the Chinnaswamy'
She takes up the table tennis paddle and runs through a peaceful back-and-forth rally. But suddenly, the competitive spirit in her wakes up with a blasting smash, much to the surprise in the room.
A competitive spirit has been in her DNA from a very young age. Since her early days, Ecclestone has had to showcase her skills amidst the boys, starting from her brother to the current crop of cricketers at Lancashire.
One thing that has remained a constant: a wow from the men, who have been surprised by her skills.
“Obviously, it is great to play against the men at Lancashire in the nets. The guys really bowl fast, and I didn’t want to face them with the bat. It will be great to play men’s cricket, probably one day…..”
There was an apparent pause. It wasn’t just a few words stringed together to complete an interview. They were words carefully woven over the years that made Sophie Ecclestone feel that she could play alongside men.
Perhaps she would.
But only if she could…..
