The Hundred 2023: Trent Rockets beat Birmingham Phoenix to keep knockout hopes alive
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The Hundred women’s competition, Trent Bridge
Trent Rockets 134-6 (100 balls): Smith 64 (40); Arlott 3-15, Levick 2-30
Birmingham Phoenix 131-4 (100 balls): A Jones 46* (30), Devine 28 (25) E Jones 20 (20)
Rockets win by three runs
Scorecard. Table.
Trent Rockets kept their knockout hopes alive in The Hundred with a tense three-run win over Birmingham Phoenix.
Bryony Smith smashed 64 from 40 balls including 10 fours to help Rockets reach 134-6 at Trent Bridge.
Amy Jones hit a fine unbeaten 46 from 30 balls in reply, but Phoenix fell just short of their target.
Despite the victory, Rockets need to win their final game and hope Welsh Fire lose both their remaining matches to have any chance of qualifying.
Phoenix, who are already eliminated, remain bottom and without a win in this year’s tournament.
What else do you need to know?
Smith hit more boundaries and scored more runs than the rest of her Rockets team-mates combined, with only two other players reaching double figures.
Emily Arlott was the pick of the Phoenix bowlers, taking 3-15 from her 20 balls.
Sophie Devine was caught behind in unusual circumstances after her attempted sweep-shot off Kirstie Gordon was top-edged into wicketkeeper Lizelle Lee’s helmet before landing in her gloves.
Eve Jones was run out thanks to a brilliant piece of fielding by Rockets seamer Alexa Stonehouse, who threw a direct hit running in from short fine leg to the non-striker’s end.
The attendance of 10,350 is a new record for a Rockets Women’s match at Trent Bridge.
‘It was a bit closer than we hoped’ – what they said
Match Hero Bryony Smith: “It was a good day. It’s been a good few days for us as a team and we’re making sure we’re still in it.
“We know our job as openers is to score quickly and we’re looking to take the really positive option all the time and score runs.
“They bowled really well towards the end, taking all the pace off the ball and it was hard to score. We got up to a good score in the end.
“It was a bit closer than we hoped at the end but we were calm. We knew what we wanted to do and it came off. I was just concentrating on executing my plans in the final set and thankfully it went our way today.”
You can watch Hundred matches on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the competition, alongside both finals on Sunday, 27 August. More details.