The Analysis: Welsh Fire finish with a whimper

Trent Rockets' victory moved them ahead of Birmingham Phoenix under the captaincy of Elyse Villani, who has replaced Nat Sciver at the helm

When Nat Sciver stood at the top of her mark, there was briefly a moment where both she and Elyse Villani were waving towards the same fielder.

Both have captained Trent Rockets this season – Sciver in an official capacity and Villani in the season opener when the allrounder was unavailable for personal reasons – but the Australian is back in charge now.

The official word from the Trent camp is that the shift allows Sciver – her team's most important player – the chance to focus on her game, a particularly interesting line given her role with England over the next month. With Heather Knight out of the upcoming series against India, Sciver – her vice-captain – will be expected to take the reins once again.

She captained during the latter stages of a series win over South Africa and then again through the Commonwealth Games, where Knight was absent with a hip injury that has turned out to be worse than first feared.

While there is no suggestion of that role being under threat or in doubt, her decision to hand responsibilities to Villani, an experienced skipper in her own right, for the time being is a reminder at least of the burden of captaincy on a player like Sciver, who brings so much and needs protecting rather than overpiling.

^{Elyse Villani made a half century for Trent Rockets in reply (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)}

It was coincidence but no surprise that her first ball, once brought into the attack by Villani, scuttled through to bowl Rachael Haynes. Four deliveries later, she had dismissed both of Welsh Fire's overseas guns, trapping Annabel Sutherland in front of her stumps.

You wouldn't say that Sciver's form has suffered for leading Rockets, armed with two excellent leg-spinners and plentiful experience: this was the first time in the tournament that she failed to reach 19 with the bat, making consecutive unbeaten scores of 42 and 59 against Oval Invincibles and London Spirit, averaging 52 in the process.

She has been expensive with the ball, though – no one in her squad has a worse economy rate, even if she has picked up five wickets along the way. Curiously, those statistics mirror her international record, where her bowling average doubles as captain and her economy rate rises by more than half a run.

Her wickets broke open a straightforward win for Rockets, who remain in qualification contention as a result. For Welsh Fire, the opposite is true: their miserable campaign is over with just a single win to show for it.

To sum up the manner of this defeat, Tammy Beaumont struck the first four balls of the match to the boundary, but her team only managed five more fours across the next 95. As she put it at the close: "Hugely, hugely disappointing to come away with only one win."

Little has gone right, even with Beaumont and Haynes stationed in the top three to provide a solid foundation. The only half century has come from Hayley Matthews, who left early to return home, while Annabel Sutherland – the middle-order hitter picked to exploit the latter overs – has managed just 88 runs, almost double Fran Wilson's tally following her arrival from Oval Invincibles.

^{Nat Sciver has stepped away from Rockets' captaincy (Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)}

Katie George, still under England contract, made a five-ball duck to end a tournament that has garnered 23 runs, while with the ball she conceded 58 runs in six sets. Only Alex Hartley has offered consistent control in that regard, though Lauren Filer – not yet contracted by Western Storm – looks an excellent prospect.

It is worth remembering, of course, that only shortly before their first game was the identity of their head coach confirmed, with Gareth Breese taken from Lisa Keightley's backroom staff to replace Matthew Mott, who took over England men's white-ball team.

For Trent Rockets, however, preparations weren't plain sailing either. It wasn't only Sciver who missed their first game – a remarkable win over Manchester Originals inspired by Alana King's hat-trick – but Meg Lanning, who pulled out on the eve of the competition, leaving a gaping hole in the batting line-up that has been mainly filled by Villani, whose fifty has pushed the side she now captains ahead of Birmingham Phoenix courtesy of net run rate and consigned Fire to one last defeat.

Related Topics

• Nat Sciver takes break from captaining Trent Rockets to focus on her game