Trent Rockets vs Birmingham Phoenix, Nottingham
Trent Rockets 125/7 in 100 balls (Freeborn 30; Gordon 3-26) lost to Birmingham Phoenix 129/7 in 94 balls (Burns 38; Johnson 3-22) by 3 wickets with 6 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Erin Burns.
Birmingham Phoenix registered their third win of the season. They chased down 126 against Trent Rockets with three wickets and six balls to spare. Despite the modest target, the Phoenix almost made a hash of it, losing quick wickets.
Shafali Verma started on an aggressive note, hitting 16 from 9 balls, with three fours before falling to her arch nemesis Katherine Brunt. Sammy-Jo Johnson then struck twice in the space of five balls to reduce the Phoenix to 58/4.
Erin Burns then took charge and made quick runs to take the Phoenix out of the mud. Burns added 38 off 26 before becoming Johnson’s third victim. Emily Arlott’s 22 drove the Phoenix across the finishing line.
Earlier, Johnson and Rachel Priest got the Rockets off a decent start. They added 34 in 16 balls for the opening stand. Brunt and Nat Sciver could not add much, and the Rockets skidded to 63/4. Heather Graham (26) and Abigail Freeborn (30) then added 54 for the fifth wicket to drag their team to 125/7.