Big picture
How far have the hundred come in just a few weeks? Never mind the widespread debate over the ECB's latest competition, a rematch of the game between these two sides over the opening weekend will tell us a lot about the early development of 100-ball cricket.
The Southern Braves were tipped as the strongest team for the men's competition, but were blown away by nine wickets at Trent Bridge on their first outing: poor performance with the bat was reduced to nothing short of a strange selection. Of which no less was the left-arm three-finger spinner in the XI. Mahela Jayawardene has patented an approach to slow starts with his Mumbai Indians team in the IPL, but the Braves then lost to small fan Welsh Fire and came within a few balls of their loss to Birmingham Phoenix. It would have been difficult to come back from three out of three losses.
But Phoenix's failure to bowl his sets early was an early example of the effect of losing fielders outside the ring (an in-game penalty for missing the cut-off) – Chris Jordan found nine of two valid deliveries. Took it and Bahadur did not look back. Jayawardene's team won five out of six, the second being a rain-ruined game in Manchester.
The two players who missed out on their opening encounter with the Rockets have since proved to be an integral part of their fortunes. Quinton de Kock has the second-highest strike rate of any batsman who has faced more than 10 deliveries, while Jake Lintot, the left-arm wrist spinner, has been signed as a Blast wildcard, a powerful wicket-taker. emerged as an alternative.
Despite their quick start, the Rockets' journey to the knockout stages was arguably more difficult. Merchant de Lange's d'Arcy Short and David Malan's five-wicket haul and an unbeaten half-century put them on their way to their first of three consecutive wins; But after three losses out of four, and Lewis Gregory's side had to put up their guts to ensure a top-three spot, beating Manchester Originals in their final match.
A strong bowling side led by Rashid Khan - with the joint-leading 12 wicket-takers in the men's competition - and de Lange's pace, the Rockets have the all-rounder option but have struggled for consistency with the bat. Malan has three half-centuries to go with four single-figure scores, while Alex Hales' highlight so far came after he was dropped by Ben Stokes and registered a dramatic win over Northern Superchargers.
Everything went according to plan in their opening match, but Gregory admitted that the captaincy had become an exercise in "gut feel" as the tournament went on. With Jayawardene and James Vince finding a successful formula to finish second above the Rockets, the second round looks like it's even more competition.
In the spotlight
Whatever happens in The Oval, Jake Lintott's rapid rise has been one of the Hundred's stories. An unknown left-arm spinner, who was struggling for a county gig at the time the tournament was conceived, grabbed his chance in the T20I with Warwickshire in 2020 and moved up the pecking order when the Braves made it both ways. Took a punt on his ability to turn from. With 10 wickets in seven matches, he is only two behind Rashid - Adil and Khan - in the men's comp standings, and his threats during the middle period of the innings meant Tymal Mills and Chris Jordan had to focus on the death. can be omitted.
David Malan is the Rockets' leading run-scorer, one of only four men to reach the 200-mark during the group stage - but his strike rate of 119.04 is well below every other top-order batsman in the competition, bar Chris. lin. The Rockets pushed them to the open as a tactical move in their final game, 52 of 46 went completely in a short chase, but Moeen Ali joked that his way to victory at Edgbaston was How the team "kept Malan" highlights the double-edged nature for its approach. With the Test call-up in his back pocket, Malan would probably love another high-profile chance to silence the skeptics.
Team news
Braves will have to replace winning team, Colin de Grandhomme departing for New Zealand duty - Singapore-born Australian Tim David, who scored a brutal century for Surrey in the Royal London Cup last week, has been drafted and can Go straight to XI. Max Waller and Archie Lenham provide forward wristspin options, while Craig Overton is available after joining England's Test squad.
Southern Brave: (possible) 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Paul Stirling, 3 James Vince (c), 4 Alex Davis, 5 Tim David, 6 Ross Whiteley, 7 George Garten, 8 Chris Jordan, 9 Danny Briggs, 10 Tymal Mills, 11 Jake Lintoto
The Rockets have no injury concerns and Malan will be available for both the eliminator and the final (should he qualify) before joining up with England ahead of the third Test. Gregory is not fit to bowl due to a back problem but the presence of Samit Patel and Steve Mulaney gives a lot of flexibility to the middle order.
Trent Rockets: 1 Alex Hales, 2 D'Arcy Short, 3 David Malan, 4 Samit Patel, 5 Lewis Gregory (c), 6 Steven Mullane, 7 Tom Moores (wk), 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Matt Carter, 10 Sam Cooke, 11 Merchant de Lange
Key stats
- With 189 runs from 106 balls, de Kock's strike rate of 178.30 is second only to Birmingham Phoenix's Will Smeed (182.22) among regular batsmen.
- The Rockets' nine-wicket victory over the Braves remains the highest margin of victory by a chasing team in a men's competition.
- The Rockets have four bowlers with eight or more wickets - Rashid, de Lange, Patel and Matt Carter - while the Braves have one - Lintott.