Report: Phoenix v Rockets, The Hundred Women

Trent Rockets were victorious in a nervy must-win encounter against Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred at Edgbaston on Monday. 

Rockets drew level on points with third-placed Northern Superchargers to keep themselves in the hunt for a place in the knock-outs, as they came out on top by three wickets with just three balls to go in a tense affair. 

Birmingham Phoenix won the toss and chose to bat, with both sides sitting on six points in the table and looking for the opportunity to keep their seasons alive. Phoenix had to make do without Sophie Devine, forced to miss out through injury.

That required a batting order shuffle for Phoenix but their shuffled top order didn’t last long: three wickets fell early for the home side as they lost captain Ellyse Perry, Fran Wilson and Amy Jones in the opening 15 balls before they’d yet made double digits. Alexa Stonehouse grabbed the big wicket of Perry, Sciver-Brunt dismissed her one-time housemate Wilson and her Maid of Honour Jones first ball.

Phoenix’s recovery was as impressive as it was crucial, with Sterre Kalis and Indian international Richa Ghosh putting on 95 for The Hundred women’s competition’s record fourth-wicket partnership. Ghosh made 41 from 36 and Kalis 47 from 44 as they took the hosts to 112-6 – something to bowl at.

After her early wickets Sciver-Brunt finished with figures of 2-16. Australian international spinner Ash Gardner also picked up a critical late couple of wickets to take 2-17. 

Phoenix needed early wickets to help them defend their below-par total and they managed just that, with Bryony Smith and Nat Wraith dismissed in the first 20 balls. 

Unfortunately for Phoenix that brought Sciver-Brunt to the crease, the leading run-scorer in The Hundred this year – and indeed the record-holder for the highest aggregate ever in the women’s competition.

With Sciver-Brunt and Gardner at the crease the visitors looked to be cantering in the chase, but a flurry of wickets at an inopportune moment from balls 70-80 – including a timely run out from Perry – made things suddenly appear much tricker for the Rockets. 

Not for the first time, the Rockets found themselves trying to scrap over the finish line, but this time it was a must-win encounter.

They perhaps benefitted from a debatable no-ball call, which saw Josie Groves reprieved having initially been given out caught, but  on this occasion they had enough in the locker to get over the line – Katie George there at the end alongside Groves to keep alive Rockets’ hopes of going further in The Hundred. 

Meerkat Match Hero Sciver-Brunt said: “I was very happy with how the ball came out today. I probably haven’t had that much success or that much consistency, so I was very happy with my personal bowling performance today.

“We were pretty happy with what we restricted them to. They got a bit of a partnership together, but when we got early wickets, we knew they were going to get a partnership together at some point. We were making sure we weren’t getting ahead of ourselves or panicking and the bowlers at the end stayed calm. 

“In terms of the chase we probably got ahead of it a bit earlier and gave ourselves a bit of relief towards the end, so the pressure didn’t build up too much. For the two batters to come out at the end, who hadn’t faced many balls, they were very brave, and I was really pleased for them to get the job done. 

“We’ve had so many close games, so to come out on the right side of it this time feels really good. It’s still all in our hands, if we beat the Oval Invincibles in our last game then we will be in that top three.”