The Trent Rockets claimed victory over the Welsh Fire in Cardiff by four wickets with eight balls to spare thanks to an excellent fifty from Nat Sciver.

The Rockets did a brilliant job at keeping the fire batting under control with Heather Graham and Sammy-Jo Johnson claiming three wickets each as the Fire reached 102 all out from their 100 balls.

Sciver made light work of that small target, making a measured 54 from 40 balls that set up the win.

This win takes the Rockets to fourth in The Hundred table and within striking distance of a top three spot and qualification for the knockout stages of the tournament.

“I would love to have been out there to finish it off,” said Sciver.

“It makes it hard when you have to watch rather than being out there able to do something about it.

“For batters to come in under that pressure and get them over the line was really important.

“Not everyone has had a bat in the competition, so it is good for them to come in under that pressure and get us over the line as well.

“We did really well to restrict them to that total.

“Obviously they have got some important batters that we were very happy to see the back of, we did brilliantly in the bowling innings.

“We did a lot of things right in the field, that first half was brilliant.”

Having been put into bat the Fire struggled to get going inside the Powerplay with Hayley Matthews struggling for timing for the first time in the tournament thus far.

After 25 balls the home team had reached 22 without loss and by the halfway stage of their innings they were 52 for two with Matthews on 13 from 25 balls.

There was an acceleration from Matthews as she scored 15 runs in the next six balls she faced. It was exactly what the team needed but she couldn’t sustain that scoring rate, slicing a catch to Nancy Harman off the bowling of Heather Graham.

When Graham bowled Sarah Taylor two balls later the Fire had lost all the impetus that the flurry of Matthews boundaries had given them as they found themselves with two batters who had yet to face a ball in the middle.

When Taylor fell the score was 76 for four from 63 balls. In the remaining 27 balls of their innings the fire managed 26 runs for the loss of six wickets, finishing on 102 all out in a batting effort that included three run outs and three stumpings. 

The Fire had a sub-par target to defend but they began well with the ball, with Sammy-Jo Johnson and Rachel Priest dismissed inside the first 15 balls.

From there the Fire struggled to stay in the game as a 66-run partnership between Sciver and Katherine Brunt put the result beyond doubt.

Brunt and Sciver were amongst four wickets to fall as the Rockets closed in on their target but despite this late flurry it was never enough to put the result in serious doubt.