Nat Sciver-Brunt’s beautiful 81* provides Trent Rockets lift-off
Trent Rockets 127 for five (Nat Sciver-Brunt 81*) beat London Spirit (Kerr 36*, Gordon 2-19) by 5 wickets
Trent Rockets skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt smashed an unbeaten 81 from 41 balls to guide her aspect to their first victory of the Women’s Hundred as they overcame London Spirit by 5 wickets at Lord’s.
Sciver-Brunt’s brutal hitting was an excessive amount of for the house bowlers as she racked up 9 fours and 4 sixes, together with two successive maximums off Danielle Gibson, to clinch the win with 13 balls to spare.
The guests’ spinners had bowled properly to limit Spirit – who stay with no win within the event – to 124 for 4, with Kirstie Gordon taking two for 19. But Rockets have been in some issue themselves at 29 for 3 earlier than the captain took management of the sport, sharing a partnership of 51 from 34 with Fran Wilson to get her aspect again on observe.
Having gained the toss, Rockets put the hosts in and opened with left-arm seam pair Alexa Stonehouse and Naomi Dattani, who targeting bowling a line that protected the brief boundary on the grandstand aspect. However, it was spin that broke the opening stand of 27, with Gordon’s second supply tempting Grace Harris to chop straight into the fingers of the purpose fielder.
Gibson continued to thrive, crunching a collection of boundaries that included a candy straight drive off Alana King to achieve 36 from 27 earlier than she was additionally undone by Gordon, miscuing one to the off aspect. Spirit struggled to get the gradual bowlers away, with Heather Knight skying King to deep sq. leg as each the Australian all-rounder and Bryony Smith went for lower than a run a ball.
Richa Ghosh batted shrewdly for her 20 from 18 and, following a quiet begin, Amelia Kerr picked up some momentum in the course of the penultimate set of 5 as she scooped Stonehouse for 3 boundaries to complete unbeaten on 36.
Rockets suffered an early blow in reply because the big-hitting Lizelle Lee – having dispatched Gibson to the leg-side fence – tried to repeat the shot three balls later and speared it to mid-on as an alternative. Sciver-Brunt was quickly up and working, although, punching Charlie Dean off the again foot for 4 because the guests progressed to 21 for one from 20 balls earlier than a sudden downpour held up play.
The recreation resumed after a 25-minute delay and Spirit’s spinners seized their alternative, with Dean pinning Smith in entrance earlier than Glenn produced one other ball that skidded on to take away Harmanpreet Kaur in the identical trend.
That left Rockets in hassle, however the captain counter-attacked as she drove Glenn twice to the fence and took 13 off 5 balls from Kerr earlier than hitting Lauren Filer for back-to-back boundaries to convey up her half-century from 32.
Despite shedding two fast wickets, Jo Gardner stored Sciver-Brunt firm with an unbeaten 17 from 11 and the pair plundered 23 from Grace Scrivens’ set of 5 – together with three sixes – to propel their aspect throughout the road.