Northern Superchargers blew the Trent Rockets away with an all-round performance that suggests they will be among the contenders for the Women’s Hundred this year. A superb bowling and fielding display was followed by a Davina Perrin masterclass, as the young batter scored an unbeaten 72 to lead her side to an eight-wicket win with 21 balls to spare.
Haviong chosen to bat first, the Rockets rarely had a chance to get going. It was a powerplay to forget, with the top three all back in the dugout with the score on five. Bryony Smith was superbly run out by Georgia Wareham, who also took two well-judged catches to cause the Rockets even more trouble.
That brought Nat Sciver-Brunt and Ash Gardner to the middle. It feels as though the burden for runs has fallen on the Rockets’ two most senior players, last year’s and this year’s captains. Sciver-Brunt showed signs that more runs will come from her this year. Stepping down from leading the team should give her more freedom, and she was looking good on 15 before picking out Phoebe Litchfield.
Gardner played the type of innings that proves why she is one of the best all-rounders in the game, with a composed knock, her fifty coming from just 26 balls. However, she needed to bat through, but Grace Ballinger’s slower ball meant Gardner did not get enough power to clear Wareham on the boundary.
With 26 balls still to go, Emma Jones, who can strike the ball cleanly, and Alana King, another boundary-hitter, could not quite get the Rockets to a competitive total, finishing on 128 for eight.
When Alexa Stonehouse bowled ten balls straight from the first end, it looked like the Rockets might have a chance of containing the Superchargers. From the other end, Perrin began to open up, striking five fours, and the Superchargers never looked back.
Alice Davidson-Richards departed for 11 from 20 balls, but by then the Superchargers were 62 from the first 46 deliveries. Perrin kept taking the attack to the Rockets’ bowlers and, with cameos from Litchfield and Annabel Sutherland, the chase was never in doubt.
Litchfield’s 22 from 10 balls ensured there was no way back. She was bowled by Cassidy McCarthy trying one shot too many, but with Hollie Armitage, Wareham and Bess Heath still to come, there was licence to keep going, which Perrin and Sutherland did to the end.
The result took the Superchargers top of the table after two rounds, with a better run-rate than Southern Brave, the other early pace-setters. The Rockets have work to do to turn things around. Their next match is on Thursday against London Spirit at Lord’s, another unbeaten side, giving them plenty of time to address the areas that did not quite click.
