Perry's Phoenix fly in Aussie-strewn Hundred clash

Perth Now

3 days ago

A women's Hundred clash with a distinct Australian flavour has ended with Ellyse Perry's Birmingham Phoenix defeating Ash Gardner's Trent Rockets by 11 runs at Edgbaston.
Perry reckoned she had enjoyed having breakfast with her five fellow Aussies - two teammates and three opponents - in Birmingham on Friday morning before the great allrounder put friendship aside to play a key role in the afternoon in steering her side to victory.
Perry, who looked in sharp form after a month playing alongside her new colleagues in county fare at Hampshire, made up for a relatively pedestrian 14 off 13 balls by bowling tightly to take 1-17 off her 20-delivery allocation and captaining shrewdly to ensure her old English Ashes rival Nat Sciver-Brunt didn't steal the show.
Chasing the Phoenix's 5-148, which had also featured an encouraging Hundred debut knock of 19 from Perry's young compatriot Georgia Voll, superstar Sciver-Brunt played a landmark innings to become the first woman to reach 1000 runs in English cricket's flagship 100 ball-a-side event.
Sciver-Brunt was single-handedly threatening to win the match when Perry, who'd already squeezed the Rockets while taking 1-9 off her 10 balls in the powerplay, brought herself back into the attack for a final five-ball stint and restricted the English star to just a couple of runs.
Another Aussie Megan Schutt (0-29) then also did a good job to keep the danger woman in check before Sciver-Brunt, running out of deliveries and partners, finally got dismissed in the last five-ball set, caught superbly by Millie Taylor off Em Arlott for a 40-ball 64.
Aussie legspinner Alana King, who'd earlier bowled well for the Rockets with her 2-30 off 20 balls, including the wicket of Voll, then came to the crease, facing mission impossible, and could only garner five off the remaining balls as the Nottingham-based outfit ended on 6-137.
"All round, it's a pretty solid start," smiled Perry. "Georgia and Emma (Lamb, 55 off 32) got us off to a good start in the powerplay which was an area that let us down last year.
"And I was impressed with the way we defended the total, particularly in the field when we cut off some twos and took some really important catches.
"Nat's always a threat whenever she's at the crease, and I thought our bowlers did a job just at the right time."
But defeat was a huge let-down for Gardner, who took 1-32 off her full allocation and looked disgusted when she was dismissed for just two, smashing a half-tracker from Hannah Baker straight to square leg while in partnership with Sciver-Brunt.
The Rockets' other Aussie international Heather Graham took 1-18 off 15 balls but was dismissed for just eight off nine balls in the chase.