It has been one of those frustrating seasons for the Trent Rockets. They have a core of world-class players and very good players, but at home they haven’t quite ignited in the way that they had hoped. Home form has been disappointing in front of a partisan Trent Bridge crowd, who fill the stands with the distinctive bright yellow. Until today, when it came good with a three-wicket victory, although Phoenix didn’t make it easy for them.
On the road has been where they have found their feet, winning both trips to London and a win at Cardiff to make it a clean sweep of the capitals. It was only against Birmingham Phoenix that they tripped up on their travels in the derby fixture.
With fourth place the best that they could hope for, and something to prove against Ellyse Perry’s Phoenix side, it all went right in front of an expectant crowd after they had lost the toss and were asked to bat first.
Ash Gardner said when interviewed at the toss: “We would have bowled, for no particular reason.” She had good reason, of course, as Alexa Stonehouse and Cassidy McCarthy bowled the first two sets of ten straight through. Georgia Voll was dismissed sixth ball, having miscued to Bryony Smith at backward point. It would have been worse for Phoenix had Perry not found the boundary twice in the first 20 balls.
Emma Lamb was the one bright spark for the Phoenix. When Stonehouse came back into the attack to finish out the powerplay, she started to find her rhythm. A partnership between Perry and Lamb was needed, but Perry was soon the second Phoenix wicket to fall, as she took on Kirstie Gordon but couldn’t get it over McCarthy at long-off.
While the Rockets’ fielding was generally good, Lamb was dropped twice. Once when she was on 21, as Heather Graham could not hold onto a catch that she had to move to her left for, and again on the deep midwicket boundary. As Lamb approached her fifty, she was dropped off a swirling ball that, as it fell, refused to stay in Gordon’s hopeful hands. The next ball inevitably found the fence through midwicket to bring up a 40-ball half-century.
Lamb would finish unbeaten on 56, to go with a Metro Bank One-Day Cup hundred at Trent Bridge earlier this season. However, 123 didn’t look like it was going to be a big enough total to defend against a Rockets side with genuine power at the top of the order.
They picked up the wickets of Smith for a run-a-ball 10, and Grace Scrivens for 16 from 21 balls; an innings that suggests in the shortest forms of the game she isn’t ready for an England place in the near future. Sciver-Brunt was again dominant with bat in hand and as long as she was out in the middle, the total was going to be chased with ease.
It didn’t help that the Phoenix bowlers gave away three no-balls in the first 50 balls of the innings and bowled too many wides. Sciver-Brunt was teasing the fielders with shots that effortlessly flashed for four, and when she lifted Hannah Baker over deep extra cover for six to bring up a 28-ball fifty, it looked like the game was done.
It was time for Sciver-Brunt to put the foot down and get the game finished. However, trying to deposit Baker through the covers next ball, she hit it straight to Megan Schutt. It was the middle of a collapse, as Gardner had been dismissed for ten, just five balls earlier, and Ailsa Lister held onto a low catch to see off Graham for five.
When Ellie Threlkeld was lbw to Phoebe Brett for two from the 75th ball, the Rockets had lost four wickets for 17 runs. By that stage 15 runs were still needed, and Alana King and Jodie Grewcock brought it down to five needed from the final ten. King was caught behind and it moved the supporters to the edge of their seats, but Gordon and Grewcock saw the Rockets home with three balls to spare.
