Birmingham Phoenix vs Trent Rockets at Edgbaston Birmingham, on 12 August 2024;
Match remembered for POTM ‘Meerkat match hero’ Nat Sciver-Brunt (pictured) who made top-score for the winning team [34 runs (from 25 balls)]; and was also best Rockets’ bowler taking two wickets, conceding 12 runs. Following her ‘skipper’s knock,’ Nat Sciver-Brunt also became the most consistent run-scorer at the group stage with 303 runs-to-date in this year’s contest, with second-placed Danni Wyatt not far behind (269.) Separately, Nat Sciver-Brunt is often ignored by commentators who often dwell on fellow England batters Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt: who’ve scored most runs since the contest began. During the match, only two Phoenix batters made double-figures (international players Sterre Kalis & Richa Ghosh); with Ash Gardner (bowling for Rockets) taking two wickets with consecutive balls: that resulted in Phoenix’s ‘below-par’ score. Post-match, Rockets skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt paid tribute to Josie Groves (occasional England u-19 skipper) who ‘hadn’t faced many balls’ but ‘got the job done,’ when hitting the winning ‘four.’ Introduced for SKY Sports by Natalie Germanos (broadcaster & actress from Rep. South Africa TV); firstly with Charles Dagnall (broadcaster & former county player.) Secondly with England u-19 players Charis Pavely and Hannah Baker (Rockets.) Other commentators included Dominic Cork (Head Coach at Derbyshire Falcons & former England international) & Mark Butcher (former England international.) Before the match, Phoenix spectators were greeted with support from Dynamo’s cricket ambassador and youth coach Mohammed Arif of the Edgbaston Foundation at Warwick CC. Between innings, Kumar Sangakkara (former Sri Lanka international) interviewed Richa Ghosh (Phoenix.) Weather: Hot, humid with patches of blue sky 25C.
*Phoenix’s innings: *skipper Ellyse Perry (Australia), with other international players Sterre Kalis (NL), Richa Ghosh (India) replacing Suzie Bates (NZ); *Without Sophie Devine (NZ) *With Issy Wong; *[Nat Wraith keeping wicket for Rockets]; *Ellyse Perry was caught at ‘extra cover’ by Ash Gardner from Alexa Stonehouse continued through her second ‘set-of-five;’ *Arriving ‘early’ at No.3, Fran Wilson was promptly caught at ‘mid-off’ by Kirstie Gordon from Nat Sciver-Brunt; *Next ball, playing across-the-line while attempting a ‘paddle-sweep,’ Amy Jones played-on to her stumps, for a golden duck; *After 25 balls ‘power-play’ (19/3) & 51/3 by mid-way; *‘Strategic-time-out’ was taken after 70/100 balls, on 73/3; *Record Women’s Hundred 4th wicket partnership of 95 runs between Sterre Kalis and Richa Ghosh; *Three more wickets fell during the last ten deliveries; *Firstly, Richa Ghosh was bowled ‘leg-stump’ by Ash Gardner; *Next ball, Emily ‘Em’ Arlott bowled by Ash Gardner for a golden duck; *Ash Gardner’s ‘hat-trick’ ball saw Sterre Kalis ‘run out’ by Kirstie Gordon’s direct hit at the non-strikers end; *Phoenix’s batting: Sterre Kalis 47(45), Richa Ghosh 41(36); *Rockets’ bowling: Nat Sciver-Brunt 2/16, Ash Gardner 2/17, Alexa Stonehouse 1/14;
*Rockets’ innings: skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt, with international players: Ashleigh ‘Ash’ Gardner, Heather Graham & Alana King (all Australia); *[Amy Jones keeping wicket for Phoenix]; *Bryony Smith was caught at ‘deep-mid-wicket’ by Fran Wilson, from Katie Levick; *Nat Wraith was caught at ‘fine’ by Hannah Baker from Issy Wong; *After 25 balls ‘power-play’ 23/2 (vs 19/3); Approaching mid-way Grace Scrivens feathered a catch to keeper Amy Jones, from Emily ‘Em’ Arlott; *At mid-way (50 balls) 59/3 (vs 51/3); *Needing to score less than one-run-per-ball, Nat Sciver-Brunt chipped to ‘mid-off’ caught by Emily ‘Em’ Arlott from Charis Pavely; *Four balls later, Heather Graham went aerial to ‘mid-off’ caught by Charis Pavely from Emily ‘Em’ Arlott; *Next ball, Ash Gardner was ‘run out’ by Ellyse Perry’s direct hit from ‘mid-on’ to the non-striker’s end; *Missing a swing, Alana King was bowled by Charis Pavely; *Katie George and Josie Groves saw Rockets safely home; *Rockets’ batting: Nat Sciver-Brunt 34(25), Ash Gardner 20(12), Grace Scrivens 19(23), Bryony Smith 13(8); *Phoenix’s bowling: Emily ‘Em’ Arlott 2/12, Charis Pavely 2/21, Katie Levick 1/25, Issy Wong 1/15;
Match result: Trent Rockets 114/7 (1.1 runs-per-ball, target 113 from 97/100) beat Birmingham Phoenix 112/6 (1.1 runs-per-ball, from 100/100) by three wickets and with three balls remaining
*Match (please also see footnote) with edited highlights courtesy of SKY Sports Cricket free-to-air via YouTube [02h22m00s] @url https://www.youtube.com/live/J7fzV95t7ek
*Results with link to match centre for edited highlights courtesy of The Hundred (Women) @url https://www.thehundred.com/results?year=2024
*Fixtures @url https://www.ecb.co.uk/news/3801564/the-hundred-2024-fixtures
Footnote: Technical fault (at time of writing) truncated the match after Phoenix’s innings, but with only 64/100 balls with Rockets’ reply on 41/2.
