Sophie Ecclestone was getting her hair plaited by England teammate Freya Davies when the Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction was underway on 13 February. Ecclestone was playing the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in South Africa at the time, but there was a lot of interest in the then upcoming WPL — and it’s first ever auction.
Like many other players up for auction, Ecclestone was mildly anxious about being picked. But as the world’s number one T20I bowler, she had less cause to worry.
“So I think Ash’s (Ashleigh Gardner) name was called out and then it was mine. And I think it was like so weird, like what’s gonna happen,” the 23-year-old Ecclestone remembers. “Like, there’s a few pauses. (I feel) I’m not gonna go. And yeah, I think it was a really weird time to be a part of that.”
UP Warriorz picked up Ecclestone for Rs1.8 crore, a purchase that’s worked well for them. Ecclestone is currently the leading bowler in the WPL with 16 wickets from nine matches at an average of just over 14, which helped UP to the playoffs. Mumbai Indians defeated UP in the Eliminator on Friday, with Ecclestone’s 2-39 coming in a losing cause. Mumbai’s Saika Ishaque has 15 wickets and may yet overtake Ecclestone in the overall wickets’ tally in Sunday’s final.
“I think I was like, whoa, like, I’ve been like picked up for quite a lot of money. I think my mom or dad rang us down to say I have gone for a lot of money,” Ecclestone says, smiling. “It was obviously really exciting for me, and just really excited to be here now and playing for UP.”
Ecclestone promptly took three wickets for 13 runs against Ireland that day in England’s four-wicket win in a World T20 group match. She had the highest number of wickets in the tournament, 11 from five matches, even as England lost to South Africa in the semi-finals.
“Yeah, obviously, that (World T20) wasn’t great for us. But I have a rule of mine now, which is that I give it 24 hours. I’ve just got to move on then. So I think I’m over it now,” she says, seated on a beanbag in the UP team room at the Trident Hotel in Mumbai in early March. “We need to keep moving forward. We’ve got the Ashes coming up (one Test starting 22 June), which is massive for us. So just need to keep working hard as a group.”
“You have lots of very highs and lots of very lows and I think you just got to ride the wave and that’s just international sport as a whole,” says Ecclestone, who speaks with a thick north England accent.
She made her debut for England when just 17 and within three years, was the No. 1 T20I bowler in the world. She used to follow her brother to the cricket club in Cheshire, which is how she got initiated into the game. In six years of international cricket, she has an impressive 87 wickets in 55 one-day internationals and 97 wickets in 70 T20Is.
“I’ve been there (No.1) for about a year, maybe two years now. It was a massive dream of mine when I was younger. I wanted to be the number one bowler, make a legacy for myself, be one of the best of all time, and hopefully win lots of trophies for England. Katherine (Sciver-Brunt, England all-rounder) was one of my idols growing up and she’s a legend in the game. So it was my dream to be the No.1 and I’m happy to stay there for as long as possible.”
She believes the WPL will inspire the next generation of women cricketers, in that they can make enough to make a living out of cricket. The first thing Ecclestone did after getting the WPL bid was to start a mortgage on her home that she’s bought in Manchester. She considers the UP Warriorz, one of the smaller teams in the league with 17 players, to be the underdogs, though the team made it to Friday’s Eliminator at the DY Patil Stadium.
“I think I’ve been blessed with the best coaching staff here for they’re all really nice. The owners and the people that are this franchise are doing the right thing and that’s growing women’s cricket, which is great. I don’t think I’d want to be anywhere else,” the English spinner adds.
What she finds different with the WPL as compared to the Australian Big Bash where she plays for Sydney Sixers is the travelling. All WPL matches this year have been held in Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium and Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium. She feels that in a few years’ time, travelling in India to start playing games in different stadiums would add to the experience.
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