THE HUNDRED
Ferguson picked up three wickets. © Getty
Lockie Ferguson rattled Birmingham Phoenix with the ball before a flying start from Tom Banton helped set up a comfortable victory for Trent Rockets to start off their season at Edgbaston. Phoenix suffered a bruised start as they fell to 12 for 3 and no attempts of recovery – led by Liam Livingstone – proved sufficient as they were restricted to just 122/6. In response Banton hit three fours and as many sixes in his 29-ball stay and was backed up further by Rehan Ahmed (25 off 16) and Max Holden (22* off 13) in a comfortable run-chase.
Livingstone chose to bat and had his openers – Will Smeed and Ben Duckett – sitting with him in the dugout by the sixth delivery of the innings. Aneurin Donald joined them shortly after – becoming Ferguson’s first wicket of the evening – as Phoenix were reduced to 12/3. The next feeble attempt at recovery was cut short through Jacob Bethell’s run out, leaving the side languishing at 26/4.
Joe Clarke was then joined by his captain Livingstone, who took it on himself to straighten the mess. A 63-run stand ensued but Ferguson returned to take out Livingstone, for a 30-ball 39. Three deliveries later, he also dismissed Clarke. Benny Howell and Dan Mousley threw their bats around at the end to push the team past the 100-run mark, but that was merely a consolation.
For the Rockets, Joe Root fell early but Banton and Rehan quickly extinguished any hopes that Phoenix harboured of defending the low total. Between them, they hit six fours and four sixes, wiping out the majority of the target by the halfway stage. Even as Howell dismissed the pair in quick succession, Holden came out swinging to further dwarf the target. By the time Tim Southee dismissed Marcus Stoinis, Rockets only needed 10 to win off 28 deliveries. Adam Hose then struck two fours and took the team over the line.
Brief Scores: Birmingham Phoenix 122/6 in 100 balls (Liam Livingstone 39, Joe Clarke 29; Lockie Ferguson 3-20) lost to Trent Rockets 123/4 in 78 balls (Tom Banton 43, Rehan Ahmed 25; Benny Howell 2-25) by 6 wickets
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