Who are the overseas stars? Where will games be won and lost? What has changed since 2020? The Cricketer takes a deep dive into Trent Rockets ahead of the first season of The Hundred
Coach
Salliann Beams: A former England international who made more than a century of outings for Yorkshire. Took Loughborough Lightning to Finals Day in the Kia Super League on two occasions and is now working with Hobart Hurricanes and Tasmania Tigers in Australia.
Captain
Nat Sciver: A linchpin for England and Northern Diamonds, she kicked into top form during the India series. Installed as vice-captain of her country at the start of the summer. Sciver has ample experience in the hot seat, having previously led Surrey Stars during the KSL. "She has impressed as a captain in domestic competitions before and I have full confidence she'll get the best out of the squad in The Hundred," said Beams upon her appointment.
Overseas stars
Sammy Jo-Johnson: One of the few Aussies to make the trip arrives as a genuine allrounder having enjoyed a decent run in the National Cricket League for New South Wales, though she hasn't bit of bowled a ball in anger since March.
Michaela Kirk: The uncapped South African has spent the summer with Lightning and has shown enough opening the batting and to suggests she will be a solid presence.
Rachel Priest: By far and away the outstanding overseas arrival comes in the form of the Kiwi keeper-batter, who will take the gloves and open the batting for Rockets. The 36-year-old has 162 international appearances, 2,567 runs and 165 dismissals across her New Zealand career and will be a colossus over the next four weeks.
Rachel Priest will be a vital presence throughout
English star
Sarah Glenn: The 21-year-old's rise to the top of the international game has been a blink and you'll miss it affair. No sooner did she give up hockey - she has pledged to go back eventually - but she was starring for Derbyshire women and in the Kia Super League for Loughborough Lightning. Since 2019, she has been a mainstay of the England team in both white-ball formats, the missing piece of Heather Knight's puzzle. The ever-improving leg-spinner already has 41 wickets for her country and is destined to be a part of the setup for the next decade.
Batting
Power-hitters: In England, Sciver has a lethal T20I strike rate of 122.45 and is quite clearly the main threat of this batting line-up. Priest scores at close to a run a ball for the Kiwis and is particularly handy with pace off having excelled in the sub-continent. That is one match-up opponents will surely have looked at. But this is a team where contributions lower down from Johnson and Katherine Brunt will be required. Scotland's Kathryn Bryce is another fast scorer but she has endured a poor start to the Regional T20.
Anchor: Ella Claridge is not perhaps a batter wonderfully suited to this form of the game, but with a decent amount of power hitters around she can bat through and keep the scoreboard ticking. You won't find many of her innings coming at anywhere close to a run a ball, but the ends justify the means. A century and three fifties in 10 knocks for Buckinghamshire this season gives her an average of 50. Only part of the Lightning academy this year, she is destined for much greater things. Heather Graham hit 284 runs during the Australia 50-over competition, but at a strike-rate of just 74.73.
Finisher: Whether her batting prowess means she ends up being required in a more prominent role remains to be seen, but this feel like a position for Johnson, even if her WBBL returns have never been that impressive. She can clearly build an innings, as highlighted during the domestic white-ball season in Australia when she scored at 126.16 in the NCL - no player to score more than 103 runs got them faster.
Problem areas: Runs are not exactly spread around the team. Few players have had good domestic T20 seasons, with Sciver and Priest central to them putting on good totals. Johnson has to take her 50-over form with the bat inside this condensed version.
Emotion: Katherine Brunt
Bowling
Speed merchants: With 294 international wickets, Katherine Brunt is among the most sought-after players in the competition. Though her speeds have dropped into the mid-70s these days, she is still one of the quickest on the circuit and what she doesn't know about bowling at this level isn't worth knowing. She'll take the ball both new and old, in the powerplay and at the death, take wickets and have batters diving for cover. Took nine wickets at 8.33 in the Rachael Heyhoe Flint Trophy, which is an ominous sign.
Variation: Of her attempts to develop a slower leg-break, Glenn told The Cricketer in June: “It has come on really well and it feels like it’s just part of my game now. Obviously, every now and then it won’t come off but it’s a good part of my game. Now, I’m just looking to move onto the next thing." She is a cricketer constantly looking to improve, unwilling to merely achieve. That desire to better herself will ensure Glenn is among the elite for many years to come. "I’m trying to learn how to do that so that further down the line I have a greater range of options, depending on the batter," she added. A scary prospect.
Line and length: There are plenty of tidy pace-off bowlers in the Rockets ranks, which means Sciver can feel confident of throwing the ball to anyone. Choosing when to deploy herself will be among those dilemmas. Bryce is another fast-medium options, while the spin options include the more attacking Nancy Harman, who has a six-for in her back pocket.
Ten-ball over candidate: Lucy Higham has the best economy rate in the CE Cup, with her only four overs of the competition having gone for just 10 runs. Bryce is also a candidate, having taken five wickets and gone at 5.10 an over.
Problem areas: If Rockets lost Brunt at any stage then this attack can certainly be got at if the ball doesn't turn which you wouldn't expect it to do at Trent Bridge. The England quick is the glue that holds the battery together and while her class cannot be disputed, her presence in the line-up does mask over its lack of depth.
Fielding/wicket-keeping
Gun fielder: Few will be more enthusiastic in the field than Brunt, who will throw herself across the outfield without a care in the world. That commitment of course saw her suffer a black eye on the way to England secured the T20 World Cup in 2009, but it hasn't deterred her. If you had any concerns, check out her running diving catch to dismiss Shafali Verma in the one-off Test at Bristol.
Who takes the gloves?: Priest wasn't enlisted to sit on the boundary on July and August afternoon: she will be taking up station behind the stumps. Only Alyssa Healy and Sarah Taylor have more dismissals in women's T20Is, with Priest having reached her 72 in 75 internationals, faster than either of the pair above her.
Changes from 2020: Rockets weren't perhaps the hardest hit by the string of overseas replacements but it nonetheless leaves a hole in their squad. Elyse Villani, Sophie Molineux and Annabel Sutherland would have been welcome arrivals. Graham, Johnson and Priest are better replacements than some other teams have been able to manage, it must be said.
Ground: Trent Bridge. A fresh pitch in Nottingham should make for a run-fest. Just three women's T20s have taken place on this ground, two of which involved Loughborough Lightning. They lost to South East Stars earlier this summer after making just 107 batting first having two years previous won chasing down 123 with 3.5 overs to spare. The first game was featured the Rockets' Priest (who did not bat) as New Zealand thumped India after scoring 145 in their 20 overs. Historically, conditions haven't always assisted swing or spin bowlers. In men's T20s, no ground on the roster has a higher runs-per-over (8.51) or runs were wicket average (25.51).
Nat Sciver comes into The Hundred in prime form
Sound from the ground: DJ Charlie Burley will be attempting to ensure the atmosphere has a local feel as he entrenches himself within the squad to help deliver a personal and upbeat playlist. Live music will be provided by singer-songwriter Jeurb, genre-defying London duo Ider and dirty guitar-playing Zuzu from Liverpool.
Fixtures: July 24 - Southern Brave (h); July 26 - Northern Superchargers (h); July 29 - London Spirit (a); August 1 - Birmingham Phoenix (a); August 7 - Welsh Fire (a); August 8 - Oval Invincibles (a); August 13 - Birmingham Phoenix (h); August 15 - Manchester Originals (h)
Squad: Katherine Brunt, Nat Sciver, Kathryn Bryce, Abbey Freeborn, Nancy Harman, Lucy Higham, Michaela Kirk, Ellie Mitchell, Heather Graham, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Rachel Priest, Ella Claridge, Emily Windsor
Possible XI: Ella Claridge, Rachel Priest, Nat Sciver, Kathryn Bryce, Heather Graham, Emily Windsor, Sammy-Jo Johnson, Michaela Kirk, Katherine Brunt, Sarah Glenn, Nancy Harman
OTHER TEAM GUIDES
Northern Superchargers - women
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