The Hundred: Alex Hales hits 58 from 41 balls as Trent Rockets blast past Birmingham Phoenix

Trent Rockets ultimately secured a comfortable win as they chased down Birmingham Phoenix’s score of 143 runs for seven wickets, finishing on 147 runs off 97 balls for four wickets at Trent Bridge.

Story of the match

Trent Rockets outthought and eventually outplayed Birmingham Phoenix. Their assured bowling display limited Phoenix to 143 after 100 balls for seven wickets.

• Scorecard: Trent Rockets (147-4 off 97 balls) beat Birmingham Phoenix (143-7 off 100 balls)
• The Hundred - full fixture list | The Hundred - latest standings

The Rockets chased down that result confidently, with Colin Munro delivering 36 from 22 balls to keep the scoreboard ticking along in the early going.

Joe Root scored 34 off 26 balls not out for the Rockets, while Alex Hales' 58 from 41 was crucial.

Tickets for The Hundred are selling fast! If you want to be part of the action, go to thehundred.com/tickets

The match began to tighten with the final six balls remaining. Alex Hales looked to put the game away as he swung for a boundary only to be caught and bowled by Tom Helm.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore edged his opening ball to lose his wicket for a duck. Though a final four from Tom Gregory brought the game to a close with the Rockets on 147 with three balls remaining.

• Meet the Hundred players in AR - play now!
• Numbers behind The Hundred: How it works

Hero of the Match, Alex Hales (58 from 41 balls)

Alex Hales said: "The pitch was on the slow side and I didn't get much strike to start with. It took me a bit of time to find my rhythm but I got there eventually.

"This is naturally a fast-scoring ground with a quick outfield, with small boundaries, you're always in the game with the chase.

"[The atmosphere] was incredible. Gets better every time I play here and the crowd last year was fantastic and it's great to see all the smiling faces."

What they said

Rockets captain, Lewis Gregory said: "A real good start to the competition. I think we bowled really well up front.

"Wherever [Alex Hales] goes, he whacks them and he scores runs and wins games of cricket. We knew that it was going to get a bit trickier as the game wore on and the ball got a little bit softer. He played fantastically up front and saw the guys home.

"Whatever format and colour of ball get put in front of [Joe Root], he scores runs. The tempo that he played at was just what we needed today and saw the game home for us.

"It's a great competition, it's great to see full houses wherever we've been and the fans here have been superb and long may it continue. We've kind of found a formula in which we can win games of cricket and to have these guys supporting week in, week out is pretty special."

What's next?

Manchester Originals and Northern Superchargers do not have to wait too long before they are back in action.

Originals head to Lord's to face London Spirit on Monday (6.30pm start) with Superchargers welcoming Rockets to Headingley on Tuesday (6.30pm start).

The Hundred Live

The Hundred Live

Watch every match from The Hundred this summer live on Sky Sports. The women's competition starts on Thursday with defending champions Oval Invincibles hosting Northern Superchargers (6.30pm start).

Tickets for The Hundred are selling fast! If you want to be part of the action, go to thehundred.com/tickets