As a close dramatic fight ended in The Hundred 2023, Trent Rockets have it all to make the hustle and bustle as they register a defining triumph against the Phoenix by 3 runs with a firm and fine show of bat and ball. Bryony Smith bagged the Player of the Match award for her charismatic knock of 64 that helped the Rockets set the target defendable and high.
Rockets won the toss and chose to bat first inviting the Phoenix attack which was laid by Erin Burns with her first set that didn’t go well as Lizelle Lee was off the mark on the very first ball with a single which was followed by Bryony Smith’s first boundary of the match on the 4th ball and her second on the 12th in The Hundred 2023.
Smith further took to her bat and went soaring in Katie Levick’s set where she came up with back-to-back smashes, two fours and the first six of the match on the 20th ball. The opening was about to set but Lee left early on the very next ball at just 3 off 8 balls. But Smith continued the hammering summing the powerplay with a four.
Nat Sciver-Brunt and Smith pulled the partnership well with massive hitting as they both donned the Phoenix bowlers with continuous boundaries, and it was the 43rd ball that Smith reached her 28-ball 50 with a quick single on the 43rd ball of The Hundred 2023. Brunt looked poised and much confident with her bat as she powerfully hit the 45th and 46th ball for two consecutive fours before returning to the pavilion on the very next ball as Emily Arlott got the breakthrough well consumed for her team.
Things went to differ on the Rockets’ part as Harmanpreet Kaur too met her LBW early on the 57th ball of The Hundred 2023. But that couldn’t do much as Smith and Fran Wilson responded firmly with their bats scoring back-to-back three boundaries on the 62nd, 64th and 65th ball. And possession of singles and quick rotation of strike was left apart as Smith finally met her dismissal on the 79th ball at 64 off 40.
Wilson could only add a few more singles and a boundary for her side before leaving for the dugout on the 92nd ball and the last minutes of the inning could only bring a few singles and dots that also brought Joanne Gardner’s dismissal on the 99th ball amassing a total of 134 for the loss of 6 in The Hundred 2023.
Alexa Stonehouse went out of the tunnel to kick the Rockets’ assault off running for two continuous sets and successfully completing the same at a cost of just 2 runs, a single in each set in The Hundred 2023. Sophie Devine and Eve Jones looked calm and composed in the first two sets of the chase until Devine opened the face of her bat to get two back-to-back fours on the 14th and 15th ball.
After the powerplay, Phoenix managed to reach just 25 runs for no loss and there was Jones coming up with two boundaries to shrug the pressure off on the 32nd and 34th ball which was followed by Devine’s first six of the chase on the 38th ball but the fortunes were in some different terms as Jones met her unfortunate run-out on the 42nd ball, returning with 20 off 20 balls.
Devine was next in the queue to follow the fall of wickets as she too got caught out by Lee as Kirstie Gordon hammered the nail fine on the 47th ball. After much wait, Burns brought the awaited boundary on the 54th ball passing some relief in the Phoenix’s dugout which was followed by a fine session of running between the wickets until Amy Jones came up with two consecutive boundaries on the 72nd and 73rd ball respectively.
Things looked in control to some extent from the point of view of the Rockets but Burns’ wicket on the 81st ball made things clear for Phoenix getting into much trouble in the coming deliveries and at the close of the match as the new down Emily Arlott too got succumbed to a run out on the 87th ball after only contributing a six on the 83rd ball of The Hundred 2023.
The last minutes of the match were named after Amy Jones’ massive and blatant hitting as she tried her best to near around the target with three back-to-back boundaries on the 91st, 92nd and 93rd ball which was followed by one similar from the bat of Sterre Kalis on the 96th ball which started the final set on a positive note. Still, Phoenix could only end up at 131 for the loss of 4 with a double and a single on the last ball.
The Hundred 2023: Trent Rockets vs Birmingham Phoenix Brief scores
Trent Rockets 134/6 in 100 balls (Bryony Smith 64; Emily Arlott 3-15) beat Birmingham Phoenix 131/4 in 100 balls (Amy Jones 46*; Kirstie Gordon 1-20) by 3 runs.
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