The Hundred women’s competition, Edgbaston
Birmingham Phoenix 64 all out (95 balls): Perry 39 (33); Bates 3-10
Trent Rockets 68-1 (31 balls): Dunkley 43* (17); Filer 1-17
Rockets won by nine wickets
Birmingham Phoenix were bowled out for just 64 by Trent Rockets as the bowler-dominated start to The Hundred continued at Edgbaston.
Ellyse Perry played a lone hand with her 39 as no other Phoenix batter made it to double figures in a dire performance.
It was the joint second-lowest total in the Women’s Hundred, and Phoenix also hold the record for the lowest when they were skittled for 54 against Northern Superchargers (now Sunrisers Leeds) in 2024.
Oval Invincibles (now MI London) also made 64 against Superchargers in the same year.
Debutant Samantha Bates – an uncapped Australian spinner – was the pick of Rockets’ bowlers with 3-10 while seamer Georgia Elwiss took 3-13.
On another bowler-friendly surface, Australia’s Kim Garth also bowled a miserly spell of 2-5 and leg-spinner Katie Levick took 1-8.
England batter Sophia Dunkley dominated the chase with 43 from 17 balls as it took Rockets just 31 balls to reach their target to complete a thoroughly one-sided contest.
It has been a struggle for batters in all four matches so far. London Spirit were bowled out for 80 in their first match on Thursday while the highest total has been Southern Brave’s 126, which they successfully defended against Welsh Fire.
Rockets’ only blemish was Ash Gardner’s drop of Perry on nine, which would likely have resulted in even more humiliation for Phoenix as their captain was the only one to prove that the pitch was not a complete mystery.
