It was a tale of two power plays at Lord’s on Thursday with Trent Rockets clinching a comfortable 33 run win against the reigning champions, London Spirit. A first win for the Rockets and a first defeat for the Spirit. And a third win for the Rockets in their three matches at Lord’s since the Hundred’s inception.
Put into bat Trent Rockets blasted their way to 52/0 in the opening 25 balls courtesy of some powerful back foot play by Bryony Smith and her opening partner Nat Wraith while London Spirit stumbled along to 26/1.
“London Spirit’s leading bowler Eva Gray (4/19) thought the same. “Definitely that was a big factor. We weren’t quite on it today. Your margin for error as a bowler has got smaller if you miss, and you are slightly fuller or shorter you seem to be disappearing into the stands,” said Gray.
Smith smashed her way to 42 off 23 balls, and with Wraith (20), chosen ahead of Grace Scrivens, added 62 for the first wicket. But in the space of four balls the visitors were 63/2 after 39 balls.
London Spirit pegged back Trent Rockets after their explosive start to leave them 75/2 at the halfway stage before the experienced duo of skipper Ash Garnder (25 off 22 balls) and England captain Nat Sciver Brunt (51 not out) added 60 for the 3rd wicket to regain their strong position.
Trent Rockets could easily have set a bigger total with the century coming up after 64 balls. “I would have liked a bit more, but only facing nine of the last twenty balls was probably part of that and we lost a few wickets at the same time’ said Sciver Brunt.
Sciver Brunt reached her half century with a six off the final ball as the visitors closed with 149/6. The England captain was such a delight to watch, as she stroked the ball around Lord’s on a sunny afternoon. 51 not out with 4 4s and 2 6s, she is difficult to tie down and only failed to score off 3 of her 29 deliveries.
“I guess they leave gaps open for me” Sciver Brunt jokingly said. “I’m pretty happy with that. It’s something you learn. Part of batting is hitting boundaries and part it’s getting off strike” said Sciver Brunt.
Eva Gray and leg spinner Sarah Glenn (1/20) proved to be the pick of the London Spirit bowling.
The reigning champions, who were on a three-match winning streak, never looked like they were reaching 150 after their powerplay woes. Opening batters Kira Chathli (19) and Georgia Redmayne (9) failed to gain any early initiative and by 33 balls the home side were 36/2.
For once the tournament’s leading run scorer Grace Harris could not save them and when she was out for 8 at 61/4 the writing was on the wall. Fellow Australian Charly Knott, batting at five, tried in vain to limit the damage and was last out for 33 from 25 balls.
Kirstie Gordon picked up the vital wicket of Harris and three at the death to finish with the best figures of 4/15 of her 20 balls.
On this performance Trent Rockets can go forward to Saturday’s home clash with league leaders Southern Brave with renewed confidence. A win against a revitalised Brave and I could see them challenging themselves for this year’s competition.
Meanwhile, the London Spirit, despite three wins out of four, give the impression of a side heavily dependent on the batting of Grace Harris. They need Redmayne, who to date has scores of 0,11,11 and 9 to regain her 2024 form in The Hundred.
Gray also a tournament winner with Oval Invincibles in 2022 remained confident of their chances of retaining the title after the game. “We lost Heather and Deepti just before the tournament, but I still think we have more than enough skill and talent in that changing room, and we have shown that in the three games so far. We’ve won from completing different scenarios in all three of those games, so we need to take confidence from that, park today and we be aiming to get to that final at home,” said Gray.
Player of the Match – Bryony Smith – her dominating display in the power play in partnership with Nat Wraith ensured the Trent Rockets were always in control at the Home of Cricket.
Plus, with Nat Sciver Brunt in superb form along with their varied spin attack of Gardner, King and Gordon, Rockets could still play a leading part in Hundred number 5!
Trent Rockets (149/6) beat London Spirit (116 all out) by 33 runs