Southern Brave secured their place in The Hundred men’s eliminator at the Kia Oval on Saturday after rain intervened at Utilita Bowl against Welsh Fire.
Brave came into the match knowing that a point would guarantee their presence in Saturday’s showdown but at the halfway stage, with 181 posted by already-eliminated Fire, they would have feared losing control of their destiny.
Two quick wickets – Alex Davies for a duck and then James Vince for 19 – further set Brave back. But following Vince’s dismissal, with rain falling steadily, the umpires took the players off.
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David Willey takes a wicket after just two balls for Welsh Fire against Southern Brave
The rain never abated and with just 16 balls having been bowled of Brave’s innings – a minimum of 25 balls are required to deliver a result – the game was duly abandoned.
It was a bitter pill for Fire to swallow. With the bat they were irrepressible, with Luke Wells and Glenn Phillips especially destructive, sharing a 76-run partnership from just 30 balls to propel Fire to their highest-ever score in the tournament.
Wells registered just his second fifty in the competition while Phillips clubbed five sixes – including one hit over square-leg against Jofra Archer that sailed 102 metres – to make 48 from just 19 balls.
For Brave, only Akeal Hosein escaped punishment, the West Indian left-armer conceding just 21 from his 20-ball quota.
Ultimately, it was immaterial. Brave are through to face either Oval Invincibles, Northern Superchargers or Birmingham Phoenix, with the latter’s game against Manchester Originals on Thursday determining the final placings at the top.
Player of the match- James Vince
“Bowling first, things probably got away from us a bit. We were sloppy. Some good players got going and we weren’t able to shut them down, so it was always going to be a tough ask to chase that down,” said Vince.
“We had a few messages saying the weather might be on its way so we had a few discussions about how to approach those first 25 balls; thankfully the rain came just in time.
“On the whole, across the tournament, the bowling group gets a lot of credit. They’re quality, experienced bowlers. Our batting goes under the radar a bit. We’d like a few more guys in form, but on the whole we’ve been reasonably consistent.”
Consolation home win for Rockets
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The Oval Invincibles encountered a number of errors that may have cost them against the Trent Rockets
Trent Rockets claimed a consolation home win over Oval Invincibles thanks to a spectacular display of hitting from Rovman Powell.
Coming to the crease with 95 needed from 52 balls and the Rockets three wickets down, Powell joined Tom Alsop in an 80-run stand to take the Rockets towards the Invincibles’ total of 150.
Powell hit four sixes, with one off Sam Curran going 101 metres, before the England man induced Powell to miscue a lofted drive to long-on.
The Jamaican’s dismissal left the Rockets needing 15 from 10 balls, but Alsop and Chris Green took the home side to victory with six balls to spare.
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Rovman Powell hits four enormous sixes during his innings
Choosing to bat first on a pitch taking turn, Invincibles opener Dawid Malan made a composed half-century, batting through the innings for an unbeaten 53 (43) to allow the hitters to open up around him.
Will Jacks’ quickfire 30 came from 17 balls, before Jordan Cox smashed a 30-ball 39 in a 71-run partnership with Malan.
Cox succumbed to Sam Cook, whose figures of 2-23 were the most economical of the Rockets’ bowlers, but Donovan Ferreira’s unbeaten 27 from just 10 balls featured three successive sixes and hauled the Invincibles up to 150-3.
Saqib Mahmood, bowling 15 of the first 20 balls of the Rockets innings, was fast and hostile, regularly touching 88mph and accounting for the wicket of Tom Banton in his opening spell.
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Donovan Ferreira smashes three sixes in three balls against the Trent Rockets
Alex Hales, on 35, misjudged a pull to give Jacks his first wicket, and Joe Root lofted a Nathan Sowter leg-break to long-on for 12 to leave Trent 56-3 after 48 balls.
But Powell and Alsop then took charge as the hosts won with six deliveries to spare.
Invincibles will now await the result of the final group game on Thursday to discover whether they will contest the Eliminator at the Oval or go straight through to Sunday’s final at Lord’s.
What’s next?
The Hundred continues on Thursday August 15 with a clash between Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Originals.
You can watch the women’s match on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 2.30pm, first ball at 3pm, and the men’s match on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 6pm.
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