Superchargers ride on the back of Rodrigues' charge to register another win

Northern Superchargers rode on the back of a magnificent innings from Jemimah Rodrigues to register their second win from as many matches when they defeated Trent Rockets by 27 runs in The Hundred at Trent Bridge in Nottingham on Monday (July 26). Rodrigues scored her second fifty in the competition to take Superchargers to the highest total of the tournament so far before the bowlers came to the fore to restrict Rockets to only 122 for seven from the 100 balls.



Opting to bat, Superchargers’ openers looked assured at the creased even though they started sedately. Except for a close LBW shout against Rodrigues by Brunt in the fourth ball, they were rarely troubled by the bowlers. Lauren Winfield-Hill scored a couple of fours and a six in the power play with the Rockets’ bowlers keeping the ball short to her.



Despite scoring only 27 runs in the power play, the duo acted as the catalyst for the Superchargers’ batting innings. Introduction of Sarah Glenn into the attack got Rodrigues her first boundary in the 34^th ball of the match. A Winfield-Hill boundary on the 44^th ball took them to the 50-run mark even as Rodrigues opened up at the other end with two more boundaries.



However, Glenn struck on the 54^th ball to break the partnership and Sammy-Jo Johnson took a return catch to dismiss Laura Wolvaardt for just three. That saw a fruitful period for the Rockets as the Superchargers’ score read 69 for two in 61 balls.



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Once Laura Kimmince joined Rodrigues, Superchargers’ innings took off as the pair upped the ante right from the start of their 64-run partnership. First Rodrigues skipped down the track to hit Johnson over mid-off for a four before hitting Brunt over the head for another boundary while Kimmince picked the two slow balls from the pacer to hit it behind the wicket.



At the 75-ball mark, Superchargers got past the hundred with another pair of fours from Rodrigues and in the next five, she reached her second fifty of the tournament while hitting Sciver for three fours. More carnage followed as Kimmince took a liking to Glenn smashing the leg-spinner for five consecutive boundaries.



Just as it looked like Superchargers will go on to put up an insurmountable total, Johnson’s triple-strike to send back Kimmince for 31 off 13, Rodrigues for a 41-ball 60 and Hollie Armitage for a first ball duck brought Rockets back into the game. A flurry of wickets at the back end meant the first innings eventually ended at 149 for seven from 100 balls.



For Rockets, Johnson finished with enviable figures of four for 15 from her 20 balls.



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In the chase, Rockets didn’t have the greatest of starts as they lost Rachel Priest to Elizabeth Russell for just four and could score only five runs in the first ten balls. Johnson got the innings going with a big six off Alice Davidson-Richards on the 15^th ball. Meanwhile, Sciver’s seemingly never-ending batting form continued at the other end as the allrounder smashed Katie Levick for three fours in the next five.



However, Davidson-Richards had the revenge when she got Johnson caught at the boundary for 13 and Rockets ended the power play with 41 runs on the board for the loss of two wickets. Sciver and Brunt looked at ease at the crease with Superchargers’ bowlers providing them with some width. They added 37-runs in quick time giving the Rockets some hope of chasing down the target.



On the 53^rd ball, Armitage struck with the big wicket of Sciver for 33 off 23 as she hit the ball straight back to the bowler. Left-arm spin of Linsey Smith got the better of Heather Graham when the batter tried to reverse sweep and was trapped in front of the wicket as Rockets found themselves at 84 for four from 62 balls.



Glenn started with a couple of big hits off Russell but was smartly stumped by Winfield-Hill in the bowling off Levick in the 75^th ball leaving Rockets needing 49 runs from the last 25 balls. From there, it was all down to Brunt but she failed to find boundaries as wickets kept tumbling at the other end and only one boundary came in that period.







Eventually it was a bridge far too big to cross and Rockets finished way short of the target. For Superchargers, Levick and Davidson-Richards took two wickets each.



Brief Scores: Northern Superchargers 149/7 in 100 balls (Jemimah Rodrigues 60, Lauren Winfield-Hill 33; Sammy-Jo Johnson 4/15) beat Trent Rockets 122/7 in 100 balls (Katherine Brunt 43*, Natalie Sciver 33; Katie Levick 2/20) by 27 runs POTM: Jemimah Rodrigues