Rachel Priest smashed 76 from just 42 balls to set up Trent Rockets’ first victory of The Hundred as they overcame London Spirit by 18 runs at Lord’s.
The Rockets’ opener dominated her partnership of 101 from 67 deliveries with Sammy-Jo Johnson, laying the groundwork for a total of 151 for four – the highest of the women’s tournament so far.
That target proved beyond Spirit, despite skipper Heather Knight’s valiant effort of 31 from 25 and they came up short at 133 for seven.
Off-spinner Lucy Higham was the pick of the Rockets’ bowlers, finishing with figures of two for 12 from 15 balls.
“It was a really good wicket. With my two previous innings, I didn’t get going and I started a little bit nervy but, once I got a couple away, it turned into my day,” said Priest.
“I think I felt slightly underdone coming into this tournament, but I spoke to the coaches about not pre-meditating too much and it worked today, I felt really clear.
“The crowd were absolutely amazing and made it a really special day. I’m getting towards the end of my career and maybe this is my last chance to play here at Lord’s, so it was super important to get a win under our belts.
“It’s really nice to get that first one on the board. They’re a quality side and it certainly gives us confidence going into the next couple of games.”
Priest savaged the home bowling from the off after Rockets captain Nat Sciver chose to bat, particularly favouring the slog sweep over midwicket as she garnered 16 from Chloe Tryon’s set of five.
There was a close call for the opener on 40 when she swung Danielle Gibson high on the leg side only for Tammy Beaumont, making her first appearance of the tournament, to spill the catch on the boundary.
Priest capitalised on that escape, drilling Charlie Dean for six to bring up her 50 from just 29 balls, becoming the first Rockets batter to reach that landmark in the women’s competition.
Despite looking on course to convert that into a century, Priest repeated her earlier shot against Gibson and this time Beaumont held on.
However, Priest’s departure did little to slow the Rockets’ momentum as Sciver slammed Gibson for successive sixes, with her knock of 32 from 16 enough to steer the visitors past the 150 mark.
That scoreboard pressure on Spirit was increased when they lost both openers – Beaumont and Naomi Dattani – inside the powerplay.
Deandra Dottin had no intention of giving up the chase, though, clattering Sciver’s first three balls for 14 as she and Knight both survived dropped chances to build a partnership of 45 from 29.
That ended in untidy fashion when Dottin was run out for 29, backing up in search of a quick single and, with Deepti Sharma and Tryon also departing in quick succession, Spirit stumbled towards a second successive home defeat.
Higham, who had earlier shelled an opportunity to remove Knight on the boundary, redeemed herself with an economical spell that included the wicket of the Spirit captain, slicing into the hands of mid-off.