BP vs TR, Review | Lockie Ferguson shines in Birmingham as Rockets defeat Pheonix by six wickets
Trent Rockets upset the fans at Edgbaston after a dominant six-wicket win against Birmingham Phoenix. Rockets and Kiwi paceman Lockie Ferguson set the tone with an incredible three-wicket spell, and batters comfortably finished the chase with 22 balls to spare to get their first win of the season.
Birmingham Phoenix had won the toss and elected to bat first in their first home game of the season. However, the decision seemed to backfire as they lost three quick wickets in the power play. Phoenix were put under pressure straight away as the score read 24/3 after the first 25 balls of the game, with Akeal Hosein, David Willey, and Lockie Ferguson getting a wicket each. Trent Rockets managed to get another important breakthrough of Jacob Bethell straight after the first quarter, with a terrible mix-up between two batters and a great piece of fielding from Sam Cook as the latter was caught outside his crease off a direct hit by the right arm quick. Though that was the only wicket in the next 25 balls, the Rockets still contained the Phoenix at 54/4 at the halfway stage. There was a bit of respite for the home team as skipper Liam Livingstone and Josh Clarke tried to steady the innings, but they were unable to get the big shots away. Though the duo put on 50+ runs for the fifth wicket, they were still struggling on a score of 85/4 after 75 balls. Trouble started for the Birmingham franchise as Ferguson created havoc with a double-wicket five-ball over, dismissing both set batters. The Kiwi express paceman completed his three-wicket haul as the Phoetail was finally exposed. The home team got a bit of a rescue partnership from Dan Mousley and Benny Howell, who played important cameos but still ended up on a below-par score of 122/6 at the end of the innings.
The Trent Rockets might have faced an early setback with Joe Root getting castled by Tim Southee, but Tom Banton made sure that he managed to get some runs on the board at the end of the powerplay with the score at 40/1. The runs started to come thick and fast as Banton was joined by Rehan Ahmed in the middle. The duo put on 51 runs for the second wicket before Ahmed was finally dismissed for 25 after mistiming a slower delivery outside off by Benny Howell to deep cover. Though the partnership was finally broken, the chasing team was in a solid position after 50 balls at 77/2, needing 46 off the last 50 deliveries. There were some positives for Phoenix in the next few overs as Banton was finally dismissed for 43 by Howell, and Southee saw the back of Marcus Stonis in his last over. However, it was not enough as Max Holden and Adam Hose made sure they chased down the target within 78 deliveries to ensure a six-wicket win with 22 balls to spare in the end.
Lockie Ferguson was the player of the match with his incredible spell of 3/20 in 20 balls, which helped restrict the Phoenix to a below-par total.
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