SB’s pace quartet ran through the Rockets batting line-up to set up the summit clash for the inaugural men’s edition of The Hundred against Birmingham Phoenix on Saturday.
The hosts dismissed their opposition for just 96 off the 91 deliveries they bowled before chasing down the paltry 97-run target at the loss of just three wickets and another 32 balls to spare.
George Garton delivered the body blow to Rockets’ chances by sending their top-order, featuring Dawid Malan (14) and Alex Hales (4), back with his opening burst.
The Sussex paceman bagged three wickets for just 18 runs off his 20-ball quota. He was backed up wonderfully by fellow left-arm quick Tymal Mills (3/8) and right-arm pacemen George Overton (2/25), Chris Jordan (2/15).
It was one of the worst batting displays in the competition from Rockets, who had only four of their batters reaching double digits and only one – Samit Patel (20) – making the 20-run mark. Tom Moores (19) finished as the second-best run-maker for the visitors on the night.
After a poor display with the bat, the Rockets were left with hardly any runs to defend. This meant that Brave batsmen could go after the bowling without worrying about the consequences too much.
And though they lost Quinton de Kock (6) and Alex Davies (3) cheaply taking the attacking route, the hosts could still sail through to the victory post with knocks of substance from Paul Stirling (31) and James Vince (45*).
Marchant de Lange picked up two wickets for just 16 off his 20 balls for the Rockets, who could not blame their bowling attack for any lack of effort, having seen the contest tilt decisively in favour of the opposition in the first half itself.
Brief scores
Trent Rockets 96/10 in 91 balls (Samit Patel 20, Tom Moores 19; George Garton 3/18, Tymal Mills 3/8) lost to Southern Brave 97/3 in 68 balls (James Vince 45*, Paul Stirling 31; Marchant de Lange 2/16, Matthew Carter 1/17) by 7 wickets
