Trent Rockets stormed to a first women’s Hundred title after demolishing defending champions SunRisers Leeds by eight wickets in a one-sided final at Lord’s.
Rockets razed SunRisers for 91 from as many balls after winning the toss before cantering to their target with 46 deliveries to spare as skipper Ash Gardner pounded the winning four through the off-side.
Georgia Adams (2-15 from nine balls), playing in her fifth Hundred final, enjoyed a brilliant afternoon for Rockets.
The off-spinning all-rounder’s wickets included Annabel Sutherland (25) stumped, while she also caught the dangerous Phoebe Litchfield (10) at short fine leg on the scoop and superbly ran out Jess Jonassen (0) from cover.
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Watch all the wickets from SunRisers Leeds’ innings as they were bowled out for 91 by Trent Rockets
Rockets made light work of the chase with Sophia Dunkley (41 off 23) and Beth Mooney (31no off 21) pounding 45 in the 25-ball powerplay during an opening stand of 69 from 61 balls – Dunkley looked on course for fourth fifty of the campaign before spooning Dani Gibson to short cover with 23 runs needed.
Sutherland and SunRisers skipper Gibson (22) were the only batters in their side to make it into the 20s, with the team slumping to 24-3 after 19 balls and then losing their final seven wickets for 35 once Deepti Sharma (12) was bowled.
Rockets romp to victory as bowlers set the tone
Rockets, who secured a seventh win in a row and an eighth in nine overall, were clinical with the ball, starting with Kim Garth (2-18) striking twice in as many legal deliveries early on to banish Bryony Smith (2) and birthday girl Lauren Winfield-Hill (0).
Charley Phillips (2-12) and Samantha Bates (2-17) also picked up a brace of wickets for Rockets, with Bates’ haul taking her to 13 in the tournament.
Sutherland and Gibson added fleeting impetus for SunRisers – the former clubbing the only six of the innings and the latter latching on to some wayward deliveries from Garth – but there was little else to cheer for the team in orange.
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Trent Rockets sealed the women’s Hundred title with a boundary as they beat SunRisers Leeds by eight wickets
SunRisers’ triumph last summer, which came under their previous Northern Superchargers name, saw them upset table toppers Southern Brave in the final.
But they could not repeat that result against this year’s winners of the league phase as they lost to Rockets for a second time this season, following a five-run loss at Trent Bridge on August 2.
That was a slender defeat, this was a hammering, with perhaps the only disappointment for Rockets that Nat Sciver-Brunt fell cheaply, pinned lbw by Sutherland for four.
‘Adams turns up in big games’
Georgia Adams (left) celebrates a wicket during Trent Rockets’ thrashing of SunRisers Leeds
Sky Sports Cricket’s Nasser Hussain:
“Georgia Adams is a serial winner, a top signing, she turned the game around.
“It’s not just about the wickets and catches, it’s about who you get out. Annabel Sutherland, Phoebe Litchfield, Jess Jonassen. That was a serious performance from someone who consistently turns up in the big games.”
‘We aren’t reliant on one or two people’
Rockets captain Ash Gardner:
“Different people stood up at different times. It’s been a fantastic campaign to be part of. I’ve said it all along, we’re not reliant on one or two people.
“People played their role, that is all you can ask as a captain. We’ve been fantastic throughout. We’re an experienced group and I’ve been able to lean on many people so it hasn’t just been me.”
