Trent Rockets dominate with both bat and ball to see off Birmingham Phoenix

Heather Graham and Sammy-Jo Johnson starred as Trent Rockets outplayed Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston to seal only their second win of The Hundred.

Having won the toss and opting to bat, Rockets skipper Nat Sciver would have been pleased with her side’s total after Graham’s explosive cameo of 44 off 21 deliveries helped guide the visitors to 145-5.

Johnson (29) and Rachel Priest (18) provided a solid platform for the visitors to build on, with the former finding the rope on a number of occasions.

Although the game threatened to change when Amy Jones turned to Abtaha Maqsood in a search to end the opening stand, and that’s just what the Scottish international did.

For the second time of the tournament, Maqsood deflected the ball on the non-striker’s stumps and this time dismissed Johnson who was well out of her ground.

Priest would soon lose her wicket too after top-edging into the hands of bowler, Emily Arlott.

The loss of their openers inevitably halted the Rockets’ progress with the score at 59-2 after 50 balls.

Maqsood should have had the wicket of Sciver to her name as well as the run out of Johnson, but Eve Jones dropped a simple chance at mid-off and provided the number one-ranked T20I all-rounder with a second life.

Sciver (27) would somewhat punish Jones’ error and hit Arlott for back-to-back boundaries in an attempt to increase the run rate.

However, her eventual dismissal was a messy one, with Kirstie Gordan’s left-arm off-spin tempting Sciver to advance down the track. Despite usually being so reliable behind the stumps, Phoenix captain Amy Jones needed two attempts to stump her counterpart who slipped when attempting to make up her ground.

That brought Graham to the crease alongside Katherine Brunt (11), with the Rockets on track for a solid yet unspectacular score.

That would quickly change thanks to the Aussie’s exploits. Graham hit an elegant lofted drive back over the head of Issy Wong for four, before dispatching Georgia Elwiss over cow-corner for the first maximum of the match.

Elwiss and Wong would respond by taking the wickets of Brunt and Sarah Glenn (7) respectively.

The 9,633 packed into Edgbaston were also offered an insight into one of the new rules implemented for The Hundred. After bowling consecutive no-balls, Wong could not complete her final set of five and was replaced by Arlott for the final two deliveries.

15 runs would come from that penultimate set of five before Graham ended the innings in the best possible fashion by sending Elwiss’ final ball crashing over wide-long-on for six.

In spite of the imposing total, Phoenix openers Eve Jones (18) and Shafali Verma (14) quickly racked up 29 runs off 13 balls as Kathryn Bryce went for 15 off her first set of five.

Whilst Jones found success with straight hitting early on, her greatest weapon soon became the cause of her downfall as she picked out Sciver at mid-on when looking advance off the bowling of Johnson.

Verma may be the most exciting prospect in the women’s game currently, but she has struggled for form in the 100 ball format and only averages 13.75. The 17-year-old was castled by a back-of-the-hand slower-ball yorker from Brunt.

Following the dismissal of Eve Jones, the Rockets would take five wickets at the cost of just 29 runs with Amy Jones (1) the next to fall.

Graham’s afternoon got even better as she removed Erin Burns (3) who would send a tame effort into the hands of Johnson who would claim the wicket of Gwen Davies as the collapse continued.

Katie Mack (24) and Elwiss (16) looked to provide stability to Phoenix innings, but that would come at the cost of boundaries with the hosts going a remarkable 38 balls without finding the rope.

Both batters would eventually succumb to scoreboard pressure, although most would not have foreseen the late rally provided by Wong.

In need of a highly unlikely 54 off 19 deliveries, Wong could not have been blamed for trying to see out the innings in a sensible manner after her teammates failed to threaten the Rockets’ total.

Instead, she counter-attacked and smashed Sciver for consecutive sixes. The first was a well-hit strike that flew over deep-midwicket while the second was heaved over long-on as she showed the Phoenix batters how it is done.

But it would be Brunt who would gain the last laugh as she caught Wong off her own bowling following a dash to midwicket. Wong’s excellent knock of 27 off just 11 balls may have earned her a promotion in the batting order, but it was more importantly great viewing for the spectators who created an infectious atmosphere.

22 off the last set of five may have been an improbable target, however, compared to how far away from victory Phoenix were before Wong came in, it certainly represented an improvement in batting from the tail.

Ultimately though, it was the Phoenix’s failure with the bat that failed them. Amy Jones did not hide away from that despite taking comfort from her side’s efforts with the ball:

“I was pretty happy with the way we bowled in general. But we’re obviously dissapointed that the top order couldn’t do the bulk of the batting.

“It was probably even more frustrating seeing Issy (Wong) go out there and smash those sixes because if we had done our bit we would have had the game.”

Despite being named hero of the match due to her all-round antics, Graham reserved praise for her teammates.

“It was a really good team performance, the two at the top are really starting to get into their groove at the moment, and the way that Nat (Sciver) comes in and plays her role is outstanding.

“It was also really good for the bowlers to come back the way they did. I think the way Eve Jones and Shafali (Verma) started was a real flyer, but the way our bowlers came back and used their variations was really good and it just shows the composure our team has started to create within the group.”

Consecutive away wins for the Rockets has seen them leapfrog Phoenix in the standings after a sluggish start to the competition. Wednesday’s clash against the Oval Invincibles at Edgbaston now becomes ever-more important for Jones and her side.

Sciver will be looking to guide the Rockets to three away wins from as many games as they face the Welsh Fire at Sophia Gardens on Friday.

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