Welsh Fire vs Trent Rockets, 11th Match, The Hundred Men's Competition 2026 - CommentaryWEF vs TRE, 11th Match, The Hundred Men's Competition 2026 - Commentary

With this thumping win, the Rockets move to the top of the table, while the Fire slipped to 5th; however, all teams still have 8 points. We've another game coming up: the London Derby featuring MI London up against the Spirit. That should be a cracking game. Change tabs and join us for all the action. For now, cheers and bye..

Billings (3/3): [On building momentum early this season] I think that's the key thing, isn't it? It's not getting ahead of yourself. Another really tough game on Friday, a great side up there. So yeah, plenty of quality that we're coming up against, but we know the quality we have in our side, and I feel like we're starting to get our rhythm. So you have to earn the right. Every single game, there's plenty on the line. And in this format and in this competition, you can't afford too many slip-ups. So yeah, we're a hungry group. Peter Moores, can't speak highly enough of him. He's been brilliant with the group, so hopefully we can keep it going. [On the next game vs Manchester Super Giants] It'll be interesting to see if it's a fresh pitch. Obviously a lot of power up top again. And yeah, two quality spinners on a spin-friendly wicket. So how you go about that, you've got to think about your options and five-bowling attacks. There are different ways. But like I said, they're a quality side. We're going to have to be right on it.

Billings (2/3): [Plans at the death?] Pace off into the pitch. Obviously, the wind plays a massive factor here with the long side. So again, it takes courage. Sometimes you ask your bowlers to do things that probably is away from their gut feeling or their usual plans. But I thought the way the guys bowled today, especially at the end, Gregory, Amir, was fantastic. So yeah, like I said, hold length. And if it's working, keep doing it. [On Ben Duckett] A little bit of luck to start the game off. You know, there was plenty in the wicket. I thought Chris Wokes opened the bowling beautifully. But as soon as you get a little bit of momentum and actually hold the game, don't lose early wickets, you know it's going to get easier. And like I said, the last two games, he's batted beautifully. He looks like a minion in the yellow, doesn't he? How small he is. But he's such a quality player, a 360 player, and so difficult to bowl at. And with Finn Allen at the other end, you know if those two guys, they've got differing style, contrasting styles, they're such a brilliant partnership. I mean, those scoops, the use of pace. A good length is actually short lengths for him, so he can cut and pull. And like I said, I think it really helps having someone at the other end like Finn Allen, with a contrasting style. But yeah, when he's playing well, he's so good in all formats of the game. He maneuvers the ball brilliantly, hits gaps, and, you know, not necessarily a six-hitter, but hits good balls for four. And the way he puts people under pressure without even trying is a real kind of quality that few batters have. So great to see him in form. Obviously, there'll be games where he won't be the guy and other guys need to step up. But hopefully this form just really continues.

Sam Billings | Trent Rockets captain (1/3): [Thoughts on the performance?] I think the bowling today was exceptional. Look, we know this wicket can offer a bit for the bowlers early on, but the way we executed - Matt Henry's obviously come off a couple of difficult games, but really showed his class today by getting a key wicket of Phil Salt and really backing it up. So the bowlers really set it up. They were always behind the game in terms of runs on the board. Obviously, Jordan Cox showed his class with a little cameo, but we always felt, you know, anything under 140 would be a really good effort. I thought the way we chased it down was just a really professional job. [On the surface] I think it's just being open-minded. Look, I think in this day and age, T20 cricket, everyone, especially young players, come into games thinking, you've just got to put the foot down. But I think Ben Duckett showed a real class, batsmanship and application in the last couple of games. That's why he's one of the best all-format players, by kind of looking at conditions and kind of nurturing the team through. [What were you expecting from your bowlers?] Whenever you come to Cardiff, it's all about holding length, you know, Test match length, eight metres away from the crease, and just being really courageous. Even if you get hit off that a couple of times, it's maintaining that and being courageous. So that was the main thing. Use the wicket; the wicket's your friend.

Ben Duckett | Match Hero: [On the bowling performance] I thought they were superb. We spoke about coming here and trying to adapt to the pitch as early as we can. And we kind of realised when you are just a fraction shorter, it was really difficult. So the bowlers were superb, and they take massive credit for this win. [On his approach with the bat] I think against that attack, which is a world-class attack, my kind of aim was to try and get through the powerplay, and then it might actually become easier. Obviously against a low target, that's made a lot easier when you've got Finn Allen at the other end who's whacking it. Free hits help as well. But to be honest, I really struggled to find rhythm throughout that whole innings. I'm pretty sure everyone saw that. But Finn played beautifully, and Banton came in there and took all the pressure off me. [On everyone contributing] You know, I'm not just trying to be that guy, but I think a lot of guys in our team deserve this ahead of me. I was just not out at the end. But bowlers won us that game, and we obviously did play well at times. But when you're chasing a total like that, if there's not much damage early, then it's pretty easy just to keep going throughout the middle. [Looking ahead to the next game] I think winning fairly comfortably. First two games have been pretty tight. So we knew coming here, and then we've got Manchester Friday, it's never easy going away. So to win here, we're really happy. And, Manchester are a great team. Hopefully we can take the form we've had in the last two games up there and get back to Trent Bridge on Sunday with three wins in a row.

17:31 Local Time, 16:31 GMT, 22:01 IST: This is the second win for the Rockets, moving them to the top of the table. It was a day to forget for the Fire as they slipped to their first loss of the campaign. The Rockets assessed the pitch better and did the work in the first innings by keeping the home team down to 122. It then needed a big effort from the home bowlers to drag their team back into the match, but they didn't help themselves with errors; 7 no-balls and a wide proved way too costly - they couldn't put any pressure on the Rockets's top-oprder - Ben Duckett held the chase firm with a 45-ball 52*. Finn Allen made a brisk 19-ball 33 and Tom Banton finished well with a 15-ball 31*. Everyone thought the chase would be tight, but they finished with 28 legal balls left. Stay tuned for the presentations..