England’s Rehan Ahmed produced an all-round performance as Trent Rockets beat Northern Superchargers by five wickets to maintain their unbeaten start in the men’s Hundred.
The 20-year-old collected 2-23 as the Superchargers were restricted to 124-9, before scoring 31 (26) as the Rockets completed their chase with four balls to spare.
The hosts had looked in control of a routine chase with Tom Banton (37) and Joe Root (20) sharing a 57-run opening stand.
However, they came unstuck against the Superchargers’ spinners, Imad Wasim (3-19) removing both openers in quick succession before Adil Rashid had Max Holden caught in the deep for a laborious 8 (11).
With 41 needed from the final 30 balls, Ahmed and Tom Alsop smacked 31 off 15 for the fourth wicket and while the pair were removed by Rashid and Wasim, respectively, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Hose saw the Rockets safely over the line.
Earlier, Northern Superchargers slumped to 18-3 inside the powerplay, Akeal Hosein striking twice in three balls to remove openers Dawid Malan and Zak Crawley before Michael Pepper slashed a routine catch to Root.
Dan Lawrence became the fourth member of the Superchargers’ top five to depart without reaching double figures when he was bowled by Ahmed.
Captain Harry Brook, who top-scored with 45 (30), and Graham Clark (36 off 22) looked to have dragged their side back into the match with a 56-run fifth-wicket stand but when Stoinis removed Brook and Wasim with consecutive deliveries, their innings faltered.
They slipped from 90-4 to 110-9, with Ahmed, Cook, and Lockie Ferguson, sharing the final three wickets to fall, and needed a four-ball cameo from Mohammad Amir (11) to get beyond 120.
