The Hundred: Southern Brave beat Trent Rockets by 10 wickets to stay undefeated in 2022

Lauren Bell takes 4-10 and tournament leading wicket-taker Amanda-Jade Wellington 3-18 as the Brave restrict the Rockets to just 88-8; India's Smriti Mandhana (57no off 31 balls) smashes nine fours and two sixes, the second of them sealing victory with a massive 44 balls still remaining

Thursday 25 August 2022 19:08, UK

Southern Brave made it five wins from five as they hammered Trent Rockets by 10 wickets, severely denting their opponents' playoff chances in the process.

Story of the match

England fast bowler Lauren Bell - the 21-year-old fresh from making her international debut earlier this summer - returned stunning figures of 4-10 from her 20 balls as the Rockets were restricted to just 88-8 batting first.

Tickets for The Hundred are selling fast! If you want to be part of the action, go to thehundred.com/tickets

Bell claimed the first of her victims, Bryony Smith, with the second ball of the innings but, despite the early setback, Marie Kelly appeared to lay strong foundations for the visitors with a bright 22 from 15 deliveries - containing three boundaries and a six.

Australia's Elyse Villani struck a run-a-ball 25, but run-scoring proved challenging despite her and England star batter Nat Sciver's obvious pedigree, the latter managing only 19 from her 30-ball stay at the crease and failing to find the boundary once.

Leg-spinner Amanda-Jade Wellington (3-18) - the leading wicket-taker for the tournament - ultimately claimed the wickets of both, sparking a desperate late collapse as the Rockets tried in vain to propel themselves to a more testing target up above 100 - five wickets falling for the addition of just nine runs from the final 21 deliveries of the innings.

The Brave made light work of the chase. England's Danni Wyatt cracked an unbeaten 36 off 25 deliveries, while India opener Smriti Mandhana smashed nine fours and two sixes in her 57 not out from 31 balls, her second maximum sealing victory in style with a massive 44 balls still remaining.

What they said...

Southern Brave captain, Anya Shrubsole: "That was pretty close to perfect, to be honest. I thought all of the bowlers were outstanding - Lauren and Wello with seven wickets between them.

"We'd obviously like to go one better. We're a stronger unit than we were last year; we played some good cricket then but just had a nightmare day [in the final].

"That can happen. We can't dwell on that - it might happen again, it might not. We'll worry about that when we get to it.

"We'll be going up to Headingley [to play Northern Superchargers], trying to win that game and go straight through to the final."

Sky Sports' Simon Doull, former New Zealand bowler: "I don't know whether there's a more potent batting combination [than Mandhana and Wyatt] in the women's game in a franchise tournament.

"You've got left-hand, right-hand. Mandhana is one of the loveliest players to watch, she just oozes class, and then Wyatt just seemed to take over at the back-end once the powerplay was done.

"Mandhana plays shots all round the ground, and she doesn't do it brute force. She does it with pure timing, and when she races to 30 off 20 balls and you don't really notice.

"And I don't think there is a woman in the game who hits the ball better down the ground off the spinners."

What's next?

Next up in The Hundred is a double-header between Welsh Fire and Northern Superchargers in Cardiff on Friday, with the home side looking for a first win in both the women's and men's competitions.

The Superchargers are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to qualification for the playoffs. The women's team currently sit fifth with two wins from four, while the men's side are one place worse off in sixth following four defeats from their first six games.

The women are up first from 3pm, on Sky Sports Mix and via a live stream on skysports.com, the Sky Sports App and the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel. The men follow from 6.30pm on Sky Sports The Hundred.

As for the Rockets and the Brave, they are next in action on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, when they in fact take on the Fire and Superchargers in their final group games.

Watch every match from The Hundred this summer live on Sky Sports.

Tickets for The Hundred are selling fast! If you want to be part of the action, go to thehundred.com/tickets