Trent Rockets, led by skipper Ashleigh Gardner, who were yet to win their first game of the season, faced a high-flying London Spirit, led by skipper Charlie Dean, who were yet to taste their first defeat of the season. The clash was set to take place at the iconic Lord’s, London. Both sides made one change each; For Trent, Jodi Grewcock replaced Grace Scrivens in the starting 11, while for London, Rebecca Tyson replaced Tara Norris in their starting 11 for their side.
Eva Gray’s 4-fer pulls things back for the London Spirit
The home skipper, Charlie Dean, won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Trent Rockets openers, the wicket-keeper batter, Natasha Wraith and Bryony Smith, took full toll of the conditions on offer, tearing the Spirit bowlers apart en route to their whirlwind 62-run opening stand. The pair notched up the 3rd highest powerplay score (52/0) in the ongoing 5th edition of the tournament.
A crucial double strike from Eva Gray removed both the well-set openers, Natasha Wraith (20 off 15 balls) and Bryony Smith (42 off 23 balls) in quick succession to bring London Spirit back into the contest. Skipper Ashleigh Gardner joined former skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, and the duo stitched another massive 60-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, which took them past the 120-run mark with 19 balls to spare. Sarah Glenn picked up the big scalp of the opposition skipper, Ashleigh Gardner (25 off 22 balls), to provide the much-needed 3rd breakthrough for the home side.
The London Spirit pacers bounced back and restricted Trent Rockets to 149/6 in their quota of 100 deliveries, courtesy of quick strikes towards the end of the innings to take the momentum with them going into the innings break. The Rockets, at one stage, looked poised to shatter multiple records at the iconic Lord’s. Nat Sciver-Brunt (51* off 29 balls) stayed unbeaten on a breezy half-century. Eva Gray (20-9-19-4), Sarah Glenn (20-6-20-1) and Issy Wong (20-9-26-1) were the stand-out performers with the ball for London Spirit on a fairly batting-friendly wicket.
Trent Spinners stifle London Spirit’s Winning Hope
Chasing a stiff total of 150, the London Spirit batters appeared to have an unclear mindset in terms of approaching the pace of the run chase. The lack of clarity in their approach was reflected in the way they went about the run chase, leading to inconsistent partnerships throughout the run chase.
As a result, the London Spirit were bundled out for 116, with five balls to spare, falling 33 runs short of the target. A scratchy 26-run opening stand between Kira Chathli and Georgia Redmayne was the highest partnership of the run chase. A counter-attacking 25-run stand between Charli Knott (33 off 25 balls) and skipper Charlie Dean (8 off 6 balls) revived the hopes for the home side; however, it wasn’t enough to get them over the line, ending a three-game unbeaten streak in the ongoing edition of the tournament.
Cordelia Griffith (20 off 11 balls) got off to an impressive start, but was unable to convert it into a match-winning score for her side. Kirstie Gordon (20-10-15-4), skipper Ashleigh Gardner (15-6-14-2), Heather Graham (20-5-28-2), and Cassidy McCarthy (15-6-18-1) were all impressive with the ball for Trent Rockets.
Nat Sciver-Brunt was awarded the Player of the Match for her impactful, unbeaten half-century, playing a crucial role as the Trent Rockets finally registered their much-needed 1st win of the ongoing 5th edition of the Women’s Hundred.
I am Yash Tailor, and I believe work should be driven by passion. Therefore, after completing my Engineering, I chose to work in the Cricket industry, my passion. My goal is to reach a stage where I truly enjoy what I do and give my best to every task with energy and purpose.