The Hundred | Team Preview: Trent Rockets hope Gregory, Nat Sciver fly them to the inaugural Championship win
The Hundred is going to be a work in progress in its first season and as an ambitious idea of the England Wales Cricket Board, it might as well be the International Cricket Council’s pitch to finally get that all-important Olympic Berthg it has been looking for over 100 years now. But all that has to be saved for later as currently, it’s the start of a new chapter in cricketing history and eight teams get to be a part of that history. One of them is Trent Rockets. The Rockets’ Men’s side on paper looks like a champion unit already with the presence of proven T20 stars like Rashid Khan, Alex Hales, Luke Wright and Dawid Malan. Lewis Gregory in the form of captain and added to it his recent form could turn out to be game-changing as well. Along with all these stars, the Rockets would have the experience of a Trent Bridge hero for many years now, Samit Patel and English Test captain Joe Root (in the initial phase and end phase, if it reaches the final four) to guide them through the thicks and thins of this mad roller coaster. Men's Squad Captain- Lewis Gregory Joe Root, Alex Hales, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), D'Arcy Short (Australia), Marchant de Lange (South Africa), Matt Carter, Dawid Malan, Tom Moores, Steven Mullaney, Ben Cox, Luke Wood, Luke Wright, Samit Patel, Timm van der Gugten, Sam Cook Coach: Andy Flower Batting: The strong suit of Rockets Without a doubt, batting seems to be the strongest suit of the Rockets with the presence of the likes of Malan and Hales at the top. D’Arcy Short the Aussie batter has shown over years in the Big Bash League how dangerous he could be at the top order. Between them, the three have got experience of more than 700 T20I games and Short and Malan played together in the BBL for Hobart Hurricanes last year as well. The 32-year-old Hales, even after being continuously ignored by the English selectors has not given up on his ambitions to keep piling up rains and making a case for himself for the upcoming T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman. He has more than 8000 T20 runs and a good recent form in the T20 Blast to make sure that he goes into The Hundred as Rockets’ best bet with the bat. For Malan, it is going to be a litmus test before the World Cup in October- November this year as he has not been in great T20 form recently. The number one ranked T20I batter has only one double-figure score in his last five T20I innings. And his recent inability to rotate the strike in his initial few deliveries is working against him as well. Along with these three hitters at the top, the Rockets have only Joe Root as a specialist batter, rest others including Patel, Wright, Ben Cox and Gregory are batters who can bowl or bowlers who can bowl, hence the top three has a lot riding on them. Rashid Magic: The mainstay of a weak bowling lineup When there is Rashid Khan in your squad, you kind of forget if you really need many more bowlers. This seems to have happened with the Rockets as well. With Wahab Riaz, the Pakistan quick being sent back for visa and work permit related issues, the bowling attack for the men in Yellow and Black looks a bit thinly spread as compared to other teams in the tournament. To help Rashid out, there would be the spin from the wily old fox Patel who is more than good enough with his left-arm orthodox. The pace bowling department has the merchant of pace literally having signed the tall South African Merchant de Lange as Riaz’s replacement. The 30-year-old almost seven-foot-tall pacer has 112 T20s under his bags and has been plying his trade in the T20 Blast for Somerset. A heap of all-rounders: The X factor of Rockets Gregory, Patel, Rashid, Wright, Short, Root, Steven Mullaney, Timm van der Gugten and Luke Wood- A total of eight players out of the sixteen in the Rockets squad are such who have the reputation and ability to be able to both bat and ball in the shortest format. With such huge resource back up in terms of all-rounders, the Rockets would look to make it their x-factor going into The Hundred. The T20 format requires such multidimensional players and they chrome in handy as well, especially in a format like Hundred, where a bowler is required to ball just five balls only. Chances of a shot at the title The Rockets are a team with a lot of talent and apart from Root, they are unlikely to lose players due to international assignments and hence look like a unit that will stay together throughout the course of the tournament. And as they say, a team that says together wins together. The T20 franchise experience of winnings titles of players like Rashid Khan, Samit Patel, Luke Wright and Alex Hales could give the side from Trent Bridge a real chance at winning the title by being stable throughout their campaign. Probable XI Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Samit Patel, Luke Wright, Ben Cox (wk), Lewis Gregory (Captain), Rashid Khan, Timm van der Gugten, Sam Cook, Marchant de Lange Rockets Women's banking on local stars The presence of Nat Sciver, the number one T20I all-rounder in the Women’s game and England all formats vice-captain alongside the experience of Katherine Brunt will be central to the success of the Rockets Women’s side. Both these players are match-winners on their day and with a combined experience of 178 T20Is and 159 T20I wickets, they will hold the bowling lineup and also play the part in run-rate acceleration as both are key big hitters. Along with these two, other English stars include leggie Sarah Glenn, Scottish Katherine Bryce and Ella Claridge. Glenn, who was although taken for a lot of runs by the Indian Women’s team recently in the three-match T20I series, but is more than capable enough of fishing in the deep ponds against non-spin friendly batters. As far as the Edinburgh born Bryce, who is playing as a local player, is dynamite and more of the sport of Brunt like. She can bowl greatly and has been in a good form for Labrough Lightning in the Rachael Hay-Hoe Flint and Charlotte Edwards Trophy. Claridge is more of an opening batter and could do well batting with Preist as an anchor. Women's Squad Captain- Nat Sciver Katherine Brunt, Rachel Priest (New Zealand), Sammy-Jo Johnson (Australia), Heather Graham (Australia), Kathryn Bryce, Abigail Freeborn, Nancy Harman, Lucy Higham, Ella Claridge, Emily Windsor, Teresa Graves, Michaela Kirk, Sarah Glenn, Alicia Presland Coach: Salliann Beams Rachel Preist spearheads foreign signings Rachel Priest from New Zealand, Sammy-Jo Johnson from Australia and Michaela Louise Kirk from South Africa are the three foreign signings for Rockets after a lot of Australian and Kiwi stars pulled out citing the Covid-19 barriers. All three of them give different perspectives to the team. While Preuirts, 36, is a more than good enough experienced player and has proven her mettle with both the bat and the gloves in her 162 international games, having scored more than 2500 runs and caused 165 dismissals behind the stumps. As far as Jo Johnson and Kirk are concerned, they both are young and haven’t had international exposure as of now. Jo Johnson as a bowler has had a decent ODI season with New South Wales Women and with a fifty under her belt, she can come good with lower-order hitting as well. Kirk has had a decent enough season with the Loughborough unit in the UK as well. Shot at the Championship With an experienced side mostly, the Trent Roixckets Women’s might not be given an upper hand of even finishing in the Top four let alone winning. But if they are really to achieve something, five players in Sciver, Brunt, Priest, Glenn and Bryce need to put up their hands and find decent support from others like Jo Johnson and Kirk to be able to pull off a surprise. Probable XI Rachel Priest (wk), Ella Claridge, Nat Sciver (captain), Abigail Freeborn, Kathryn Bryce, Michaela Kirk, Katherine Brunt, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Sarah Glenn, Alicia Presland, Nancy Harman
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