The Hundred 2023: Meet Trent Rockets as Dawid Malan & Nat Sciver-Brunt name players to watch
- Published
Dawid Malan (left) and Nat Sciver-Brunt (right) have told us which players you should keep an eye on this year
The Hundred returns on 1 August, but how are Trent Rockets shaping up ahead of the third season?
BBC Sport have spoke to a player from their men's and women's teams and worked with data analysts CricViz to assess Rockets' chances and key players.
Who are they?
Ground: Trent Bridge, Nottingham
Men's captain: Lewis Gregory
Men's coach: Andy Flower
Women's captain: Nat Sciver-Brunt
Women's coach: Jon Lewis
Previous record: Men: 2021 - third; 2022 - champions; Women: 2021 - seventh; 2022 - third
When are Trent Rockets' fixtures?
Trent Rockets fixtures in the 2023 Hundred | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Team | Date | Time (all times BST) | Venue |
Southern Brave | 1 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Trent Bridge |
Birmingham Phoenix | 5 August | Women at 14:30, Men at 18:00 | Edgbaston |
Northern Superchargers | 9 August | Women at 11:00, Men at 14:30 | Trent Bridge |
London Spirit | 11 August | Women at 11:00, Men at 14:30 | Lord's |
Welsh Fire | 14 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Sophia Gardens |
Manchester Originals | 17 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Trent Bridge |
Birmingham Phoenix | 19 August | Women at 11:00, Men at 14:30 | Trent Bridge |
Oval Invincibles | 21 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Kia Oval |
BBC coverage: Games in bold (see time column) are live on BBC TV & iPlayer, with every match having ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds. The BBC Sport website and app will have live text updates, the TV/radio coverage, in-play video clips plus contributions from Hundred super fan community and all the best stats. |
How are they shaping up?
Katherine Sciver-Brunt retired from England and domestic cricket after February's T20 World Cup but will play one final season of The Hundred
BBC Sport has worked with data analysts CricViz to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each side.
Men's team
Defending champions Rockets persisted with a left-right batting combination throughout 2022 and will be looking to do the same this year with Dawid Malan and Colin Munro complementing Alex Hales and Tom Kohler-Cadmore. This strategy suits the lopsided nature of Trent Bridge.
The likes of Samit Patel, skipper Lewis Gregory, Daniel Sams and Imad Wasim also provide plenty of firepower down the order.
With the ball, Rockets have plenty of variety with the capability to cover pretty much every bowling style in an XI depending on opposition.
The only area where they perhaps lack quality is at the death. However, last year they regularly took wickets and mixed up their bowlers to exploit conditions.
The late withdrawal of Afghanistan leg-spinner and number one-ranked T20 bowler Rashid Khan is a significant blow, but his replacement for the first three games Imad Wasim is used to conditions at Trent Bridge, having played for Nottinghamshire in the T20 Blast, and offers skills with bat and ball.
However, New Zealand spinner Ish Sodhi, who will come in as planned for the fourth game onwards, offers less with the bat and in the field, and that may affect Rockets as the tournament progresses.
Women's team
Trent Rockets have arguably the in-form batter in the world in Nat Sciver-Brunt - the England all-rounder has taken her game to another level this year for both England and her Women's Premier League outfit Mumbai Indians.
Harmanpreet Kaur captained champions Mumbai and she should slot in alongside Sciver-Brunt in the middle of the order with Lizelle Lee and Bryony Smith charged with getting the Rockets off to a quick start.
Nat Sciver-Brunt will also be vital for the Rockets with the ball alongside Katherine Sciver-Brunt and leg-spinner Alana King, who returns to the side after taking a hat-trick in Rockets colours at Old Trafford last season.
Left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon and right-arm quick Grace Potts were mid-priced picks for the Rockets and could be valuable in complimenting the star trio of bowlers at the Rockets in 2023.
Who do the players think you should keep an eye on?
Alex Hales was the fifth-highest run-scorer in the men's competition in 2022 with 259
BBC Sport spoke to a player from each men's and women's team and asked them to pick two key players to watch, and talk about their chances this year.
Trent Rockets batter Dawid Malan: "Alex Hales is obviously one, if he has a good season he will light up any team that he plays in. Last year, Luke Wood had a fantastic year for us and he shows if you can take wickets with the new ball you are in the game.
"We've pretty much had the same team for three years, we've had a few additions here and there and released a few players, but predominately, the core has been the same. I's proven over the last two years that if that core of players perform like they should perform, then we will be pushing towards that semi-final or the play-offs, at least."
Trent Rockets all-rounder Nat Sciver-Brunt: "You can't look past the signing of Harmanpreet Kaur who I've obviously played in India with and then Alana King, she obviously did really well last year and leg spinners in T20 cricket and The Hundred are very important.
"We've been building in the past couple of years ... hopefully we can go one better this year and get into that final spot. Obviously with franchise cricket, where you come and play for a month and go again, it's important to gel as a team. Hopefully, we can do that quite quickly and get it done."
Where will they finish?
Now it's your turn to have your say. Pick how you think the men's and women's group-stage tables will finish and share them on social media using #BBCCricket, external.
Read about the other teams: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Southern Brave, Welsh Fire.