Charlotte Edwards, the head coach of Mumbai Indians, lauded the performance of her team's young pacer, Issy Wong, after the 20-year-old took a hat-trick in the eliminator against UP Warriorz in the Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023. Wong's exceptional bowling skills took Mumbai Indians to the final, where they defeated Delhi Capitals to lift the trophy.
Edwards, a former England captain, said that she knew Wong was capable of such performances and had signed her for this reason. "If there's anyone that was made for that occasion, it was Issy Wong. I just knew it. That night, I knew she'd get a hat-trick," said Edwards on the Sky Sports Cricket Daggers and Lyds podcast.
Wong, who made her international debut in all three formats for England in 2022, took out Kiran Navgire, Simran Shaikh, and Sophie Ecclestone to finish with overall figures of 4/15 in the eliminator against UP Warriorz. Edwards said that Wong's hat-trick transformed the game within three balls, and they knew then they had won.
In the final against Delhi Capitals, Wong took three more wickets, and with the bat, bowlers and Nat Sciver-Brunt came good to secure Mumbai's victory. Lydia Greenway, Edwards' former England teammate who worked with Mumbai as their fielding coach in WPL 2023, praised Wong's performance and said that she was a big player in the future of women's international cricket.
"You often see players who are made or broken in front of big crowds and pressure situations, and they either go one way or the other. Even in our first game, she came out last in most, she just clubbed it for six, and then ran off bowling. You can just see by the way she carries herself, she wants to be in the key moments," said Greenway.
Wong's outstanding performance in WPL 2023 has put her in the spotlight and signaled her potential as a future star of women's international cricket.