The Trent Rockets will face off against the Birmingham Phoenix in the 25th match of The Women’s Hundred 2023 at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on August 19th at 3:30 pm IST. The Phoenix currently has a 2-1 lead over the Rockets in their previous encounters.
The Rockets are fourth in the points table, having won two out of six games. In their last match against the Manchester Originals Women, the Rockets won convincingly, with Lizelle Lee, Bryony Smith, and Nat Sciver-Brunt successfully chasing down the Originals Women’s score of 107/5 with 36 balls to spare. The Phoenix, on the other hand, has had a tough season, losing five out of six games and being eliminated from the 2023 edition. In their last game against the Southern Brave, Amy Jones scored 33 runs, but the Phoenix fell short by three runs.
Squads:
Trent Rockets – Nat Sciver-Brunt (C), Katherine Sciver-Brunt, Alana King, Bryony Smith, Harmanpreet Kaur, Lizelle Lee, Grace Potts, Kirstie Gordon, Josie Groves, Cassidy McCarthy, Naomi Dattani, Alexa Stonehouse, Jo Gardner, Fran Wilson, Nat Wraith
Birmingham Phoenix – Amy Jones, Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Sophie Devine, Hannah Baker, Katie Levick, Eve Jones (C), Abtaha Maqsood, Erin Burns, Chloe Brewer, Sterre Kalis, Davina Perrin, Tess Flintoff, Abbey Freeborn, Charis Pavely
Players to watch for:
1. Alana King
The Australian leggie played an important part in throttling the run flow against the Originals. Her 20-balls-set gave away just 12 runs. In the five matches, she picked four wickets at an impressive economy of 6.63. She can add valuable runs from her bat too. She has represented Australia in 22 matches and has picked 21 wickets with a best figure of 4/8 coming against Barbados in the Commonwealth Games.
2. Bryony Smith
She has had a mesmerizing summer with runs coming at a smashing rate. In the Charlotte Edwards Cup, no one scored more runs at a better strike rate than hers. Her 256 runs came at a strike rate of 155. The Player of the Match award in the last match was the perfect testament to her skills. Her ability to bowl decent off-spin makes her an irreplaceable player.
3. Amy Jones
The English wicketkeeper-batter has been at the wrong end even after scoring runs at a good rate. Her 103 runs from 5 matches have come at a strike rate of 125. Her best performance of 48*(34) and 33(23) have come in a losing cause, where the Phoenix lost both matches by a mere margin of 3 runs. Apart from batting, her glove work has been impressive throughout.
4. Emily Arlott
The 25-year-old speedster has been promising in all 5 matches. In the last match against Southern Brave, she took 2 important scalps of both the openers, Smriti Mandhana and Danni Wyatt. Barring her economy which has been on the higher side, she has made impactful performances with 4 wickets coming from her total of 50 balls in the ongoing season.
Pitch Report
The pitch at Trent Bridge is supposedly a batting-friendly wicket. High scoring game is expected with slight help for the spinners.
Weather
It will be a partly cloudy environment with 10% precipitation and 64% humidity. The temperature is expected to hover around 23 degree Celsius. The breeze will flow at a slightly higher rate of 29 Km/h.
Fantasy Playing 11
Amy Jones, Eve Jones, Bryony Smith, Jo Gardner, Harmanpreet Kaur, Sophie Devine, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Erin Burns, Alana King, Katie Levick, Kirstie Gordon.
Match details:
Date – August 19, 2023
Time – 3:30 PM IST
Venue – Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Broadcast – All games of the tournament will be telecasted on the Sony Sports Network and will be available for live-stream on Sony LIV and Fancode.
A budding writer, who is trying her level best to do her bit for Women’s cricket.
