All-round Bryce stars as Originals brush Rockets aside

Beth Mooney and Kathryn Bryce put on an unbeaten 113-run stand for the opening wicket to help Manchester Originals to a comfortable 10-wicket win over Trent Rockets at Trent Bridge, on Tuesday. Bryce followed up her returns of 2 for 19 with an unbeaten 45-ball 61 as Originals chased down the 112-run target with 18 balls to spare.

Put in to bat, Rockets made a steady start. Nat Sciver-Brunt led the way with a 26-ball 34, with handy contributions from Bryony Smith, Natasha Wraith and skipper Ash Gardner, but the innings fell apart in the second half. Placed well for a late surge at 94 for 3 in 76 balls, Lauren Filer dismissed Gardner and paved the way for a lower order collapse.

Sophie Eccelstone, Amelia Kerr and Bryce offered little scoring opportunities, and attempts to hit the big shots backfired. Eventually, in the last 24 balls of the innings, Rockets could add only 17 runs. Eccelstone, who was awarded the Player of the Match, conceded only 12 runs from her spell.

Mooney and Bryce made light work of the chase. The duo rotated the strike frequently and kept finding the odd boundaries to ensure the required rate never piled up beyond the comfortable range. As the victory became inevitable, Bryce cut loose, stroking four boundaries in a space of seven balls against Gardner and Kirstie Gordan. She eventually completed the chase by hitting Heather Graham for a boundary - her eighth of the innings - through deep square leg.

Brief Scores: Manchester Originals 111/7 in 100 balls (Nat-Sciver Brunt 34; Lauren Filer 3-23, Sophie Eccelstone 2-12) lost to Manchester Originals 113 for no loss in 82 balls (Kathryn Bryce 61, Beth Mooney 47) by 10 wickets