The Hundred 2023: Joe Root's 72 in vain as London Spirit beat Trent Rockets for first win
- Published
'Unbelievable work' Hain stops six with stunning boundary save
The Hundred, men's competition, Lord's |
London Spirit 195-4 (100 balls): Lawrence 93 (49), Crawley 30 (15); Sodhi 2-29, S Cook 2-48 |
Trent Rockets 193-5 (100 balls): Root 72* (35), Kohler-Cadmore 33 (23); Worrall 2-23, Dawson 2-38 |
London Spirit won by two runs |
Joe Root hit a brilliant unbeaten 72 but London Spirit edged out Trent Rockets by two runs for their first win of the 2023 Hundred men's competition.
Rockets needed 13 from the final five balls but Nathan Ellis dismissed Daniel Sams, who bludgeoned 32 off 11, before restricting Lewis Gregory.
Root hit 10 fours and two sixes in his 35-ball innings but had to watch the final six balls from the other end.
Spirit racked up a massive 195-4 with Dan Lawrence making an eye-catching 93.
Root's scoop leads plays of the day
What else do you need to know?
Root came to the crease with Rockets 18-2 but immediately went about his work with trademark drives and ramps to the boundary.
Rockets needed 52 off 18 balls when Sams came in but the Australian smashed two sixes off Liam Dawson, before hitting four further boundaries as the equation became nine off four balls required.
However he was trapped lbw by Nathan Ellis before Lewis Gregory could only hit three successive twos as defending champions Rockets fell to their second defeat of the group stages.
Lawrence smashed 10 fours and three sixes in his 49-ball innings as Spirit posted their highest score in the men's competition.
He was supported by England Test opener Zak Crawley, who made 30 off 15 balls, and Ravi Bopara, who finished 25 not out off 13 deliveries.
Off the 98th ball of the Spirit innings, Rockets fielder Sam Hain made a superb save on the long-on boundary. He took a catch with his weaker left hand, but was falling over the rope, almost horizontal to the ground, as he took it and threw it back over to save four runs.
'We held our nerve really well' - what they said
Match Hero, London Spirit's Dan Lawrence: "With a boundary that is only 40 metres it's so hard to control any batter who gets going.
"I thought our lads in the last 10 balls held their nerve really well and thankfully got over the line.
"You've got to accept that some balls are going to go for six and then the next ball has to be your best ball again."
On Joe Root: "He can play! Thankfully we managed to keep him off strike the last few balls. But he's brilliant and played some amazing shots today."
You can watch Hundred matches on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the competition, alongside both finals on Sunday, 27 August. More details.