Trent Rockets Men snatched the final spot in the knockout stages of The Hundred as Joe Root’s second straight half-century secured a nervy three-wicket win over Welsh Fire.
Root backed up his 76 from 41 balls against Oval Invincibles last time out with an unbeaten 64 off 41 against Fire as Rockets edged to their target of 151 with one delivery to spare in Cardiff.
The visitors were seemingly coasting, only to then lose five wickets for 20 runs from 116-3 – including a stretch of three for six – and the ask became 15 from six balls once David Payne dismissed Marcus Stoinis (1) and David Willey (0) from successive deliveries.
However, Root – who had been caught off a Payne no-ball on nought at the start of the innings and then cracked the resulting free hit for six – began the final set of five by flogging Chris Green for six and four, before Sam Hain’s boundary clinched the win.
Rockets join defending champions Invincibles and Northern Superchargers in securing a top-three finish, with Fire, Southern Brave, London Spirit, Manchester Originals and Birmingham Phoenix now eliminated from play-off contention.
Fire earlier made 150-6 batting first, thanks to Stephen Eskinazi and skipper Tom Abell after England Ashes hopeful Sam Cook had removed Jonny Bairstow (8) and Steve Smith (8) cheaply.
Fire’s final group game against Brave on Thursday is now a dead rubber, while Rockets know that a win over Phoenix on Wednesday could be enough to secure top spot and direct progression to the final depending on how Invincibles and Superchargers fare against Spirit and Originals respectively earlier in the week.
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Welsh Fire’s Stephen Eskinazi smashed a monster six over the pavilion and out of the ground in Cardiff
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 coming up on Monday?
Oval Invincibles welcome London Spirit to The Kia Oval with the the women’s match under way from 3pm and the men’s getting going at 6.30pm, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions in The Hundred live on Sky Sports until August 31.
