Trent Rockets defeated Northern Superchargers by five wickets at Trent Bridge to maintain their unbeaten start to The Hundred this season.
Playing in front of their home fans in front of their home supporters the first time this season, the Rockets who beat Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston on Friday, kept Andrew Flintoff Superchargers to 128-9 in 100 balls and won with relative ease but the Superchargers did well to get deep.
Runs were probably expected given the weather and the way the Superchargers women’s team batted in the day’s opening game, but on a dry surface, the ball gripped and few batters appeared to be able to bat freely. That meant the Rockets never dominated the chase, but they had enough to win with four balls to spare.
With the ball, the hosts’ spinners Akeal Hosein and Rehan Ahmed took two wickets each and never let the Superchargers get going, but it was Australian allrounder Marcus Stoinis who broke the most important partnership, that of top-scorer Harry Brook and Graham Clarke, who put on 56. Stoinis would go on to grab two wickets in two balls and give 0 runs in five deliveries.
When it came time for the Superchargers to defend, Imad Wasim took two wickets in two balls and three in total, and Adil Rashid gave up next to nothing in addition to two wickets, but Stoinis and Adam Hose scrambled Trent Rockets home with four balls remaining in front of 13,497 happy home fans.
Meerkat Match Hero Akeal Hosein said: “I was grateful for that start [two early wickets] and thankful to be able to put my team ahead early on.
“I think both ends of the wicket played differently. The top end here where I started off, it was a bit sticky, it gripped a bit, and then when I went on the other end it was a bit low and skiddy, so it’s about just working out what works well at each end and sticking to that plan for as long as possible.
“It’s a happy bunch. It’s a talented bunch as well, and we have one goal in mind. Whenever the ball is thrown to us, it’s our opportunity to make it happen for the team. It’s very good to have a good group of bowlers. So even if it doesn’t go your way on that day, you know you’ve got your brothers to cover you.”
On the close finish, he added: “I walked across from the dressing room with all confidence. I had no pads on, you know? So that’s the confidence I had in the boys to get over the line. But with that being said, it was closer than we would have liked, but we were glad to get over the line.”
