Planning and precision finally transformed into performance as the 3rd edition of The Hundred got underway at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge. Runners-up of the previous edition Southern Brave locked horns with Trent Rockets. Both sides looked well balanced with a nice mixture of raw talent and established veterans.
The Braves were put into bat and ended with 157 on the board for the loss of 6 wickets. The right and left-hand batting combination of India’s Mandhana and Wyatt stitched together a vital opening partnership of 65(43). Not only did they negate the new ball, but also gave a good structure to the innings. Mandhana’s innings saw 6 fours and 2 gigantic sixes as she was finally dismissed by Smith. Prior to this Danni Wyatt departed for 27(27).
There was not much fuel left at the back end of the innings, but it took some special belting from Maia Boucher 31*(18) and Chloe Tryon 23*(10) to wrap up their quota of 100 balls. Amongst the wickets for the Rockets were Naomi Dattani (1/30), Alana King (1/24), Kirstie Gordon (1/17), and Bryony Smith (2/34) who maintained decent economy rates to restrict the opposition to a modest total just above 150.
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First of the many sixes from Smriti Mandhana's bat 😍#CricketTwitterpic.twitter.com/Qxp5I2keIh
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 1, 2023
In reply to which The Rockets were off to a rusty start as they lost their top 3 batters for single-digit scores. Bryony Smith was dismissed for naught without facing a ball as she was run out by Moore’s agile awareness. Followed by Dattani and Lee both of whom fell to Taylor. From there on it took Nat Sciver and Harmanpreet to assess the conditions and stabilize the innings. In the context of the game, a partnership was crucial here, and rightly so came a 45(32) run stand between the two.
But the pendulum swung back towards Southern Brave after Harmanpreet fell for a well-made 22(17). On one end Nat Sciver continued to showcase her heroics but lacked intent from her partners as Trent Rockets succumbed to a score of just 130 handing the Braves a 27-run win. Skipper Sciver’s fighting 49 went in vain as the Braves were resilient enough to inflict damage with the ball. Anya Shrubsole (1/23), Mary Taylor (3/18), and Georgia Adams (2/25) were the key architects for the Southern Braves victory.
Smriti Mandhana was awarded the Player of the Match for her awe-inspiring 55(36).
Smriti Mandhana's fifty powered Southern Brave to a win against Trent Rockets in the opener.
Smriti Mandhana: 55 (36)
Nat Sciver-Brunt: 49 (31)
Mary Taylor: 3/18 (20)#CricketTwitter #TheHundred pic.twitter.com/PFl1bLmHFF— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 1, 2023
