Trent Rockets geared up for their Eliminator showdown with Northern Superchargers by sneaking past Birmingham Phoenix with one ball to spare after a memorable debut in The Hundred for Ben Cox and an eye-catching all-round display from Rehan Ahmed.
Match Analysis
The Rockets confirmed their second-place finish in the group, behind Oval Invincibles on net run rate, and will go into Saturday evening’s contest at the Kia Oval full of confidence after claiming their sixth win in eight.
Spin was the key for the Rockets, with their slow bowlers producing combined figures of 6-35 from 50 deliveries after Ben Duckett (20 from 15) and Will Smeed (23 from 12) had made a promising start.
Rockets skipper David Willey may have been questioning his decision to insert the opposition when the Phoenix raced to 36-0 from 21 deliveries, but the innings stalled when Duckett scuffed a short delivery from Lockie Ferguson to Rehan at midwicket.
Joe Clarke soon followed, slog-sweeping southpaw spinner George Linde to deep midwicket, and from there the wickets tumbled. The irrepressible Rehan (3-15) induced a chop-on from Smeed and snared Jacob Bethell for a duck three deliveries later before Linde (2-12) claimed his second when Liam Livingstone’s ugly heave met thin air.
Rehan grabbed his third – and 10th in the competition overall – when Benny Howell picked out Max Holden on the boundary and Joe Root, whose 15 deliveries cost just eight runs, got in on the action when Liam Patterson-White’s edge was brilliantly held by Cox, who only received a call-up to join the Rockets yesterday following an injury to Adam Hose.
Dan Mousley (26 from 25) gave the score some respectability but 111-9 looked well under par, even on a spin-friendly surface.
The chase was far from easy though. After the early loss of Tom Banton for 1, caught at mid-on off Boult, Rehan sparkled once more, racing to 37 in 23 balls before an audacious slog sweep was caught in the deep off Livingstone. Root continued his good recent form in the tournament with a run-a-ball 25 that came to an end when he was bowled by Patterson-White and the left-arm spinner struck again five deliveries later, castling Willey with a devilish delivery that spun back sharply between bat and pad.
Linde was run-out after a mix-up and Marcus Stoinis got a leading edge to cover off Bethell as the Rockets slipped to 89-6, and the left-arm spinner struck again when Sam Hain holed out to leave six required from five.
Bethell was entrusted with the final set and conceded just three runs from his first three deliveries but Cox kept a cool head and swept the fourth to the boundary to finish unbeaten on 17 from 12 balls.
Named Meerkat Match Hero after his three wickets and quickfire knock, Rehan said: “Coxy was always going to do it, I had full trust in him. There was a lot of assistance for spinners on this pitch. We train on similar surfaces so it was about going out there and doing the same thing. I’ve enjoyed the opportunity I’ve been given and hopefully I can do it in the next couple of games.”
Match Summary
Trent Rockets (Men) vs Birmingham Phoenix (Men), Match 31
Trent Rockets (Men) 113/7 (99 balls)
Birmingham Phoenix (Men) 111/9 (100 balls)
Trent Rockets (Men) won by 3 wickets
SCORECARD
Partnership
The winning moment for Trent Rockets! ??#TheHundred | #RoadToTheEliminator pic.twitter.com/F6NitjbPnc
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 27, 2025
Match Stats
Birmingham Phoenix (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Ben Duckett – 4.1 ov), 2-42 (Joe Clarke – 5.3 ov), 3-59 (Will Smeed – 8.2 ov), 4-59 (Jacob Bethell – 8.5 ov), 5-65 (Liam Livingstone – 11.3 ov), 6-72 (Benny Howell – 13.2 ov), 7-79 (Liam Patterson-White – 14.1 ov), 8-92 (Adam Milne – 17.4 ov), 9-111 (Dan Mousley – 19.5 ov)
Trent Rockets (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Tom Banton – 1.4 ov), 2-66 (Rehan Ahmed – 9.4 ov), 3-68 (Joe Root – 10.5 ov), 4-71 (David Willey – 11.5 ov), 5-77 (George Linde – 14.1 ov), 6-89 (Marcus Stoinis – 15.4 ov), 7-106 (Sam Hain – 18.5 ov)
Wagon Wheel
Playing XI
Trent Rockets (Men)
Birmingham Phoenix (Men)
Match Details:
Date: Wednesday, August 27, 2025 18:30
Venue: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Toss: Trent Rockets (Men) elected to bowl
Umpires: David Millns (England) Graham Lloyd (England) Sue Redfern (England TV)
Match Referee: James Whitaker (England)
© Cricket World 2025
