The 20th match of the Hundred will be played between Welsh Fire and Trent Rockets on August 6 at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Both the teams have had similar starts to the tournament as they have lost their first two matches and won the last two games. Who will make it to the hat-trick of wins? Rockets or Fire? Tune in to find out….
Squads
Trent Rockets: Rachel Priest (wk), Sammy-Jo Johnson, Natalie Sciver (c), Katherine Brunt, Heather Graham, Sarah Glenn, Emily Windsor, Abbey Freeborn, Kathryn Bryce, Georgia Davis, Nancy Harman, Lucy Higham, Michaela Kirk, Teresa Graves, Ella Claridge, Alicia Presland
Welsh Fire: Bryony Smith, Hayley Matthews, Georgia Redmayne, Sarah Taylor (wk), Sophie Luff (c), Georgia Hennessy, Piepa Cleary, Katie George, Alex Griffiths, Nicole Harvey, Hannah Baker, Alice Macleod, Amy Gordon, Natasha Wraith, Bethan Ellis, Lauren Filer
Players to watch out for
Natalie Sciver (Trent Rockets):
The number 1 T20I all-rounder is leading from the front with both bat and ball. She is the leading run scorer for the Rockets with 136 runs from four outings, including the best score of 44. She has a strike rate of 149.45. With the ball, the right arm seamer has bagged three wickets.
Sammy Jo-Johnson (Trent Rockets):
The Australian all-rounder is having a dream run in the tournament so far. With the ball, the right-arm quick has scalped nine wickets in four matches. She is the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament (as of August 4, 2021). The opening bat has also muscled 71 runs at a strike rate of 105.97.
Hayley Matthews (Welsh Fire):
The West Indian all-rounder is the highest run-getter for the Fire, with 155 runs from four matches, including the best of 71 not out. She has a good strike rate of 139.63. With the ball, the off spinner has accounted for five wickets.
Georgia Redmayne (Welsh Fire):
She is the second leading run-getter for the Fore with 99 runs from four matches, including the best of 38 not out. The top-order bat has shown a lot of promise and played an important role in the Fire’s recent success in the tournament.
Weather conditions
It is a 3.30 pm (local) start at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The weather does not look that bad, given the fact that there is an average 20% chance of rain during the course of play. The weather forecast shows a chance of precipitation. The average temperature is around 18 degrees Celsius, with a fresh breeze blowing from the west-southwest
Pitch
This will be the third match of the tournament at the venue. The average score has been 116 here, with the average 1st innings score being 115 and the average 2nd innings score being 117. The teams batting second have won both the matches. The wicket tends to favour the bowlers more as the two games have produced low-scoring encounters. The seamers have had an upper hand with 8 wickets to 5 wickets scalped by spinners.
Fantasy playing XI
Rachel Priest, Georgia Redmayne, Georgia Hennessy, Sophie Luff, Sammy JO-Johnson, Hayley Matthews, Natalie Sciver, Sarah Glenn, Nicole Harvey, Piepa Cleary, Lucy Higham
Date: August 6, 2021
Time: 8pm IST
Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Live streaming: Fan Code
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.