Trent Rockets claimed their first victory of The Hundred in emphatic fashion against previously unbeaten London Spirit at Lord’s.
England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt led the Rockets to 149 for six with an unbeaten half-century, and they bowled out the reigning champions for 116 with five balls remaining to claim a 33-run win.
Openers Bryony Smith and Natasha Wraith set the tone for the visitors at Lord’s with a partnership of 62 for the opening wicket – Smith scoring 42 from 23 balls.
Both fell to Eva Gray, who then went on to dismiss Heather Graham and Emma Jones in successive balls, but Sciver-Brunt remained at the crease and finished her innings unbeaten on 51 from 29 balls.
London Spirit lost wickets at regular intervals, with only Kira Chathli, Cordelia Griffith and Charli Knott reaching double figures, while Kirstie Gordon claimed four wickets for only 15 runs off 20 balls.
Ash Gardner took 2-14.
Sciver-Brunt said: “It feels brilliant [to get a first win of the tournament], we were all really excited to play at Lord’s, what a ground.
“And then to get some points on the board – we feel like we’ve done well in patches [in the first two games] but it was really good to put it all together today.
“Ash Gardner is massively important to us, she’s our key all-rounder and she’s really leading us, and putting her foot on it.”
How do matches work?
One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It is as simple as that.Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred, with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weather.
What’s next?
The Hundred continues on Friday with Northern Superchargers back in action on Friday against Birmingham Phoenix, with Brave playing Rockets and Fire up against Oval Invincibles on Saturday.
London Spirit are next in action against Birmingham Phoenix on Sunday.
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions live on Sky Sports from August 5-31. Not got Sky? Stream The Hundred and more with no contract.
