Mumbai Indians Women's English medium pacer Isabelle Eleanor Chih Ming Wong, better known as Issy Wong, made it to the history books in T20 cricket by claiming the first half-trick of the inaugural Women's Premier League (WPL) 2023.
Wong got into the act to derail the UP Warriorz's chase of a stiff target of 190, claiming the wickets of Kiran Navgire (43), Simran Shaikh (0) and Sophie Ecclestone (0) in successive balls for a hat-trick during her 4-15 haul as the Warriorz were restricted to 110 all out in 17.4 overs.
Wong said she has not done anything special on Friday but just bowled to a good rhythm. The English bowler had been in hat-trick situations a few times earlier too and missed on a few occasions. So, on Friday, she made sure she executed her plans.
"I tried to make sure I execute it. I think there's been a few moments in the past where I've been in similar situations and (made a) mess of it -- two in two moments and I guess it's like you say hyperactive too excited to actually focus on executing.
So I was, yeah, trying to be quite calm, quite clear at the end of my mark and just right. Thinking of what I'm going to bowl. I want to bowl a yorker right, missed it a little bit. But yeah, got a little bit of help, but I'll take it with both hands and run," Wong said in the post-match press conference here on Friday night.
Wong, who has played for the Birmingham Phoenix for the 2022 season of The Hundred, has also represented Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes in the Women's Big Bash League.
On Friday, she talked about the issues she faced coming back from an injury, which forced her to withdraw from the WBBL, into a big event like Women's Premier League. She said she has been focusing on getting a good rhythm while bowling.
"I've just been focusing on trying to find a bit of rhythm. I haven't really played that much cricket over the last, I guess, six months to have a run of games and actually slot back into that rhythm.
Because, you know when you kind of, you take a long flight and then you do training and then you pick up a niggle and then you, you rehab it and then you play one game and then you come back and go back inside and it kind of throws you (back) a bit.
"So I think the first couple of games especially I did feel a bit rusty, but just trying to find that rhythm and keep that rhythm and real groove it. That's all I've been working on really," she said about her experience of the WPL 2023.
Asked how would she rate her hat-trick among her top bowling performances, Wong said it will be up there at the top. "Yeah, it would be up there, I think. So, I think when I'm not bowling well, I try and look at the my 24 balls, how many would I like to have another go at?
So how many did I not execute and I'd like to have another go at. "I guess when it doesn't go well, it makes me think actually like you've not had that bad a day. You've just, you've not bowled 6 balls where you want them and that's made you think it's not good.
So I try and do the same when I do bowl well, probably bowled, yeah, five or six really good balls, a couple of in-between balls, couple of bad balls. So yeah, in terms of those balls (half-trick), thought, yeah, they'll be right up there. I'm pretty pleased with it," she said.