Birmingham women beat Trent Rockets despite Sciver-Brunt 50 as Emma Lamb top-scores for her new team with 55.
Despite a heroic 64 from Nat Sciver-Brunt, Birmingham Phoenix defeated Trent Rockets by 11 runs thanks to runs from the in-form Emma Lamb and outstanding bowling from wristspinners Hannah Baker and Millie Taylor.
Lamb scored a brilliant half-century (55 from 32) to lead the Birmingham Phoenix at the top of the order as they scored 148 for 5 from 100 balls.
Phoenix chose to bat first and got off to a poor start, scoring 16 for 0 off of their first 15 balls. After the 25-ball power play, they were 36 for 0, and by the midway point, in front of a more receptive Edgbaston crowd, the host team had fallen to 78 for 1, having lost Georgia Voll (19), who was bowled by Australia’s legspinner Alana King.
Lamb flat-batted Ash Gardner’s offspin into King’s hands at deep midwicket, reaching her half-century off 28 balls with eight boundaries before falling with the score on 89.
Ellyse Perry’s 20 balls gave up only 17 runs as the Phoenix captain led from the front as the home team’s economical bowling hindered the Rockets’ run chase throughout the reply.
Sciver-Brunt became the first woman or man to reach 1,000 career runs in the Hundred with a lofted drive off Baker. She did so at an exact average of 50.
After hitting a hard six off Em Arlott over midwicket to reach her half-century, she hit a straight four to reduce the equation to 37 needed from 15 balls. The equation was then 27 from 10 balls when Megan Schutt hit another boundary off her last ball.
After bowling the penultimate five and giving up just seven runs to leave Arlott with 20 runs to defend from the final set, left-arm wrist-spinner Taylor (1 for 22) made a spectacular one-handed grab at short fine-leg to end Sciver-Brunt’s run.
The Rockets concluded at 137 for 6, with Arlott finishing with scores of 2 for 38 and Baker 2 for 18 from 15 balls.