Davina Perrin’s unbeaten 72 off 40 balls outshone Ashleigh Gardner’s 32-ball 61 as Northern Superchargers surged to the top of the Women’s Hundred points table with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Trent Rockets. Chasing a modest 129, the Superchargers finished the job in 79 balls, sealing victory with 21 deliveries to spare and leaving the Rockets winless after two matches.
The result hinged on two contrasting innings: Gardner carrying a stuttering Rockets effort to 128/8, and Perrin turning the chase into a one-sided finish with a boundary-laced knock featuring 12 fours.
Rockets stumble early, Gardner fights alone to 128/8
After opting to bat, Trent Rockets endured a nightmare start, collapsing to 5/3 inside the first 20 deliveries. Grace Ballinger’s opening burst set the tone, bowling 10 consecutive balls while conceding only three runs off the bat. In the middle of the squeeze, Bryony Smith was run out, compounding the early damage.
Linsey Smith then removed Natasha Wraith, who sliced to cover-point, before Kate Cross struck to dismiss Grace Scrivens with a catch at mid-off. With wickets tumbling and scoring difficult, the Rockets were left searching for stability and momentum.
That lift finally arrived through Gardner and Nat Sciver-Brunt, who began to find boundaries and rebuild the innings. Sciver-Brunt cleared the ropes off Ballinger, while Gardner kept the scoreboard moving with regular fours. Their 42-run stand offered hope, but it ended when Sciver-Brunt fell for 15, failing to clear the fence off Cross. At the halfway mark, the Rockets were 53/4, still needing a strong finish to post a competitive total.
Gardner continued to shoulder the responsibility, accelerating with a burst that included three boundaries in four deliveries off Cross. She reached her fifty from 26 balls with a four off Georgia Wareham and kept the pressure on with another boundary off Ballinger. But just as the Rockets looked set for a late surge, Gardner’s innings ended when she was caught in the deep off Ballinger while attempting to put away a short delivery. Her dismissal left the Rockets 94/5 with 26 balls remaining, and the innings never fully recovered.
Emma Jones managed a boundary before falling to Cross, while Annabel Sutherland dismissed Heather Graham. Alana King added four twos but was run out off the final delivery, as the Rockets closed on 128/8 in their 100 balls. Cross led the Superchargers’ attack with 3-31, helping keep the Rockets below 130 despite Gardner’s standout 61.
Superchargers race ahead in chase as Perrin dominates
In stark contrast, Northern Superchargers began their chase at pace, with the openers putting on a fifty stand in 32 deliveries. Perrin did most of the damage early, responding after an economical start from Alexa Stonehouse, who conceded only five runs in her first 10 balls. Perrin then unleashed a flurry of boundaries, striking seven fours in her first 25 deliveries as the chase quickly tilted in the Superchargers’ favour.
Alice Davidson-Richards played a supporting role, rotating strike as Perrin found the fence repeatedly. In their 62-run partnership, Davidson-Richards contributed 11 off 20 before being dismissed by Graham, but the foundation had been set. Perrin soon brought up her half-century from 28 balls, guiding the Superchargers to 67/1 in their first 50 balls.
Phoebe Litchfield joined the charge with a hat-trick of boundaries off King, keeping the required rate firmly under control. Cassidy McCarthy was also taken on, with Perrin and Litchfield each finding the boundary, though Litchfield was eventually bowled attempting another attacking stroke. Even then, the momentum stayed with the Superchargers as Perrin continued to find gaps and the fence.
Perrin struck two boundaries off Graham to take the Superchargers past 100 in 62 balls, and Sutherland added to the late acceleration with two boundaries off Kirstie Gordon. Perrin and Sutherland then finished the chase with a boundary apiece off King, completing a dominant pursuit at 129/2 in 79 balls.
What the result means
The eight-wicket win lifts Northern Superchargers to the top of the Women’s Hundred table, underlining their early-season momentum built on a strong bowling effort and a ruthless chase. For Trent Rockets, Gardner’s lone resistance wasn’t enough to prevent a second straight defeat, leaving them winless after two games.
Score summary: Trent Rockets 128/8 in 100 balls (Ashleigh Gardner 61; Kate Cross 3-31) lost to Northern Superchargers 129/2 in 79 balls (Davina Perrin 72*; Heather Graham 1-22) by 8 wickets.
