Australian all-rounder Ellyse Perry has put up a show with bat and in the field as Birmingham Phoenix ended their 12-match losing streak by beating Trent Rockets in The Hundred 2024 competition at Trent Bridge.
Phoenix won the toss and opted to bat with Sophie Devine and Sterre Kalis going for a partnership run of 32.
Alana King’s introduction saw the breakthrough for Rockets, who picked the wicket of Devin for 17 runs. Ellyse Perry came to bat and increased the strike rate along with Kalis.
Perry scored 41 in 20 balls before making the most of the conditions, while also riding some luck in being dropped on the boundary in what ended up being an impressive 66 from 34 deliveries.
Ellyse and Kalis put up a partnership score of 102 from 60 deliveries including 11 fours and four sixes. Amy Jones arrived a crease with four balls to go and Phoenix scored five more runs to leave their innings at 139 from their 100 balls, with Jones run out on the final delivery. Kalis completed the innings with an unbeaten 48 runs.
while speaking in the post-match presentation, Ellyse said, “I’m chuffed for the girls. We played with a lot of spirit today, played really positively, and it is nice to get over the line in a tight one at the end.
“It took us a while to get going, but once you were in there was a breeze, so it was easy to find the pockets in the ground and build a bit of momentum with the bat. The total felt defendable, but they chased well, Heather at the end there was really unlucky not to bring it home for them, so to hold our nerve at the end was awesome.
“I’m stoked for the girls; it is a great group and they play with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. You can’t worry about last season, this is a different squad, but it is something that has been spoken about around the group by other people. Hopefully, people stop talking about that [12 in a row] now.”
Perry remained in action in the field, firstly taking the wicket of Grace Scrivens and catching Bryony Smith’s shot helping the side to dismiss two wickets for 58.
Nat Sciver Brunt brought hopes to the side smashing 59 runs on 37 deliveries, while Heather Graham scored 30 runs in the match.
With the Rockets needing 27 runs in 10 deliveries, Heather comes in handy in the match hitting four boundaries leaving the Rockets needing seven runs in the last two balls.
Natasha Wraith was sent out on the Penultimate delivery going for a second, leaving Graham needing a six to win from the final ball. But Phoneix pulled out a victory in the match by 3 runs.
