Rachel Priest leaves London Spirit without a prayer in 18-run win at Lord's

Hard-hitting 76 from 42 balls posts highest total of women’s competition so far

Trent Rockets 151 for 4 (Priest 76) beat London Spirit 133 for 7 (Higham 2-12) by 18 runs

In their reply, the returning Tammy Beaumont, who missed Spirit’s opening two fixtures after attending her brother’s wedding, struck her second and third balls for four before falling to Kathryn Bryce as they slipped to 25 for 2 inside the Powerplay. Dottin hammered Katherine Brunt for an imposing six over long-on as she and Heather Knight guided them to 70 for 2 at halfway – but sharp work from Priest and Sarah Glenn saw Dottin run-out backing up for 29 off 19 and the rest of innings fell away.

Priest repays faith
New Zealand veteran Priest had made a grand total of eight runs off ten balls (with two scoring shots) across Rockets’ first two matches in the tournament, defeats to Southern Brave and Northern Superchargers. But on a belting surface at Lord’s, Priest brought the benefit of five Women’s T20 World Cups and three 50-over World Cups to bear to post a formidable 151 for 4.

Priest and Sammy-Jo Johnson made a steady start, taking the score to 26 for 0 at the end of the Powerplay. But the introduction of Chloe Tryon’s left-arm spin for the next set – possibly a match-ups decision with two right-handers on strike – helped grease the wheels. Tryon’s first ball was a high full toss that was dumped for four (as well as being called a no-ball), and although the free hit went begging, the next ball became the first of Priest’s four leg-side mows for six; then another four disappeared through point.

Confident in her ability to pummel boundaries, Priest was happy to soak up a few dots – she faced 13 in the course of her innings – and pounce when offered up a morsel. She should have been caught by Beaumont at deep midwicket on 40, but the ball instead ended up trickling to the rope, and she then tucked into Charlie Dean’s offspin with a thump down the ground followed by another heave to leg, raising a 29-ball fifty. At that point Spirit took their strategic timeout, Priest had 71 from 36 with 40 balls still remaining in the innings, and was on track for the first hundred in the new format – only for Beaumont to atone with an excellent running catch off the 67th.

Severe Sciver With Johnson playing an anchoring role, Rockets looked to their captain for an injection of rocket fuel during the closing stages of the innings. Sciver duly obliged, ticking along to 8 off 7 before dismantling Danielle Gibson during the 17th set of the innings. The first of three consecutive boundaries had an element of fortune about it, as she managed to clear Alice Monaghan at long-on, despite the ball landing a few yards inside the rope. But there was a touch of naked brutality about the back-to-back sixes that followed: a clean punch over mid-off that just kept going and going, and then an almighty crack that sailed beyond long-on, measured at 82 metres.

It wasn’t to cost them in the end, but the Rockets innings ended up having a slightly lopsided look to it. With Johnson batting through until the last 15 balls for 25 off 34, and Sciver holing out in the final set, there was a sense that they could have racked up an even bigger score. Between them, Priest and Sciver managed 108 from 58, while Johnson, Katherine Brunt and Heather Graham made 34 off 43 (and yes, that does add up to 101 balls bowled – because Priest’s tally includes a no-ball that was hit for four).