Mignon du Preez hailed the impact of a fervent home venue as Trent Rockets cruised to victory over Welsh Fire in front of a record crowd for a women’s domestic match at Trent Bridge.
Du Preez was on hand to hit the winning runs, with Elyse Villani contributing an unbeaten 55, as the hosts chased down Fire’s 100 with 18 deliveries to spare.
It was a result which received a rapturous reception from the crowd of 10,286, just nine days after a five-figure attendance saw the Rockets’ women triumph over London Spirit.
“To see how many people have come out to support women’s cricket is fantastic,” said du Preez.
“We don’t always get these crowds back home even when we play international cricket.
“The energy around everything has been amazing, and the way the women’s game has been promoted has been fantastic. The double headers just seem to be working and it is such a fantastic atmosphere.
“Last year the girls didn’t really deliver how they wanted to on home soil, so we tried to turn that around and give the crowd something to enjoy.
“They have been fantastic throughout the competition and I’m glad we’ve been able to finish on a high at Trent Bridge.”
Welsh Fire made a confident start, skipper Tammy Beaumont dipping into her repertoire of expansive strokes to send Kathryn Bryce’s first four deliveries to the rope.
The England opener would, however, get her comeuppance just two balls later, Bryce pouching the catch off Bryony Smith’s bowling.
That precipitated a clatter of top-order wickets for Fire, with Nat Sciver producing her strongest bowling performance of the season in Rockets yellow to castle Rachael Haynes (6) and pin Annabel Sutherland (1) inside her first set of five.
“Today was set up by the bowlers,” reflected du Preez.
“After the first set of five [which went for 16 runs], I think the way the girls bounced back was amazing.
“We restricted them to a really good total and we always knew we had the batting to chase it down.”
Having gained the upper-hand, the hosts retained a vice-like grip on proceedings – first Smith returned to lure Fran Wilson into a mistimed off-drive, before Georgia Davis was fleet of foot and sharp of mind to run out Sarah Bryce off her own bowling.
Bryce’s 23, scored at almost a run a ball, had been the foundations upon which Fire’s somewhat stuttering innings had been built. Without her, the Welsh outfit looked vulnerable to a capitulation, and Katie George soon found herself heading back to the dugout courtesy of a fine tumbling take by Smith off Alana King.
“Our bowling was backed up well by our fielding today,” said du Preez.
“We put a lot of pressure on the opposition by putting our bodies on the line. It’s something we pride ourselves on so it was good that everything came together today.
“The kind of catch Bryony took is never easy, diving forwards, but she’s been fantastic for us. All the girls have really stepped up today.”
Nicola Carey would follow, slashing Katherine Brunt to Villani, before Brunt completed the innings in emphatic fashion by bowling Lauren Filer off the 100th ball.
Alongside the eight wickets claimed by the Rockets, this was a performance of admirable control – not once between the 23rd and 92nd deliveries did the Fire succeed in finding the fence.
With 101 required to win, the hosts could afford a little patience, and openers Villani and Smith played themselves in before finally unleashing the first six of the day from their 21st ball.
While Smith and Sciver may have ultimately departed without seriously troubling the scorers, Villani was in the mood to seize the initiative.
From 46/2 at the halfway stage, the trickle of runs became a torrent.
Three fours came from the next five balls, before the skipper and South Africa international du Preez took a liking to the leg-spin of Alex Hartley, taking 15 from her final set.
“I’ve had the opportunity to play with her multiple times at Stars and Hurricanes, and she’s a good friend of mine,” said du Preez of her partner in crime Villani.
“I think the way she led from the front today was fantastic.
“We all know how good she can be, and I think she was frustrated that she’s not contributed in the way she would have wanted to so far, so I think this will have been a special knock for her.”
From that point onwards, the result was a mere formality. Villani’s half-century arrived from 38 balls, and her inventive, fluent innings would reach 55 from 40 by the end of the game.
It was left to du Preez to apply the finishing touches, slapping two consecutive fours off Annabel Sutherland to complete the job with 18 balls to spare.
“We have to wait and see with tomorrow’s results if it’ll be enough to qualify, but we couldn’t have done anything more today,” said du Preez.
“We’ll just have to sit and watch the games now. Hopefully, we have done enough – we’ll keep our fingers crossed.”