Trent Rockets handed Welsh Fire their first defeat of the season in The Hundred in a one-sided affair at Sophia Gardens.
Chasing a below-par target of 123 with 28 balls to spare, the visitors Ben Duckett saw the Rockets to victory with an unbeaten 52.
The start of the Rockets’ chase was by no means fluid, but the Fire bowlers were sloppy, giving away four frees in the power play and seven in total. Duckett faced the first four and found the boundary only once, but he and Finn Allen (33) still managed to move the visitors to 42-0 after 25 balls without cause for concern.
The explosive Allen began to accelerate and took 17 runs from Sam Cook’s first five. He and Duckett cruised together against an uninspired Fire attack and took the score to 75 before Allen fell lbw to fellow Kiwi Rachin Ravindra for 33.
Duckett, along with Tom Banton (31), continued on his merry way, bringing up another half-century in as many matches, this time from 42 balls, as the Rockets made it two wins from three.
The Hosts Four had earlier finished their batting powerplay at 26-2 after being asked to bat first. They lost Phil Salt and Joe Root for five runs apiece to the seam of Matt Henry (2-16), the latter failing to connect with a ramp.
After reaching 59-2 at the halfway point, the Fire looked to press on but went on to lose three wickets in the next 14 balls, including setting Matt Short for 36 from 26.
Jordan Cox (33) countered by booting Mitchell Santner’s left-arm spin for three consecutive sixes but perished for a fourth, spectacularly caught on the cover boundary by a diving Allen.
Four then limped to 122-7 with Asa Tribe (13no) and Chris Woakes (4no) failing to find the boundary from Mohammad Amir and Lewis Gregory in the closing stages of the innings. Their goal would prove easily surpassed by Trent Rockets, who moved up to second in the table with their second win from three games.
‘The bowlers take credit for the victory’
Meerkat Match Hero – Ben Duckett – on Sky Sports Cricket:
“The bowlers were fantastic. When we came here we talked about adapting to the pitch as early as possible. They take massive credit for this win.
“My goal was to try to get through the power play and then it might actually be easier. It’s made a lot easier when you have Finn Allen on the other end hitting it.
“Four frees really helps too, but to be honest I really struggled to find the rhythm throughout that innings. I’m pretty sure everyone saw that. Finn played beautifully and Bants came in and took all the pressure off me.
What’s next in The Hundred?
The Southern Brave host Birmingham Phoenix on Thursday, live on Sky Sports, with the women’s game at 3pm followed by the men’s at 6.30pm. Watch The Hundred and more contract-free NOW