Watch every match from The Hundred live on Sky Sports; every women's game and selected men's fixtures to be streamed for free; England T20 international Chris Jordan smashes 22 from 11 balls to take Southern Brave close before falling to a six-run defeat to Trent Rockets
Wednesday 2 August 2023 07:01, UK
Defending men's champions Trent Rockets opened the 2023 Hundred with a nail-biting six-run win over 2021 winners Southern Brave at Trent Bridge.
Chasing a modest target of 134 to win, England T20 international Chris Jordan smashed 22 from 11 deliveries - including two huge sixes - to take Brave close after an earlier top-order collapse, but his wicket to Daniel Sams (3-26) with nine needed from four balls all but ended the contest.
After bowling a wide next ball to keep Brave interested - eight needed from three - Craig Overton was then run out and Sams ended the innings and the match by bowling Tymal Mills.
Brave had made a decent enough start to their chase, with 41 added off the first 35 balls, only for both openers Devon Conway (16) and Finn Allen (28) to depart in the space of 10 deliveries - with the wicket of captain James Vince (3) also sandwiched in between.
Rockets captain Lewis Gregory took 3-19, claiming Conway off a top edge at point before returning to add Tim David (5) and James Fuller (8) as Brave fell behind the rate.
Leus du Plooy kept Brave in with a sniff with his 29 off 19 deliveries, and Jordan's big-hitting appeared to swing the game in the 2021 champions' favour before they eventually fell just short of their target.
Earlier, Sam Hain top-scored with a fine 63 from 39 deliveries to save the Rockets innings after they slipped to 25-3 in the opening 23 balls - their powerful top order of Alex Hales (9), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (4) and Dawid Malan (11) all gone cheaply.
Pakistan's Imad Wasim (26 off 25) provided handy support to Hain in a 78-run partnership for the sixth wicket before they were two of three wickets to fall in as many deliveries as Brave claimed a team hat-trick to close out the innings - Hain run out before Jordan (3-18) bowled Wasim and Matthew Carter with the next two.
Imad (2-15) also impressed with the ball for Rockets, the left-arm spinner claiming both Vince and Allen as he bowled his first 10 balls on the bounce for the cost of just seven runs.
The Hundred continues on Wednesday with FOUR games.
Welsh Fire women take on Manchester Originals women from 11.30am in Cardiff before the men's sides meet from 3pm. Over at Lord's, it is London Spirit women vs Oval Invincibles women from 3pm with the men's London derby then under way from 6.30pm.
Sky Sports will show all 68 games in The Hundred live this summer. Stream The Hundred and more with NOW
