Trent Rockets
The Trent Rockets will unsurprisingly play their home games at Trent Bidge. A venue known for being favourable for batsmen, it’s one of the flattest, if not the flattest pitches in the country and often features a shorter boundary to one side. Captaining the side is Lewis Gregory and will be coached by Andy Flower, who replaced Stephen Fleming after he withdrew from the tournament due to family reasons. Flower looks to be a really good pickup as coach, who has done some good work with the St Lucia Zouks in the CPL and more recently won the PSL with the Multan Sultans.
Squad:
They’ve put together a strong side, with batting definitely looking like the stronger suit. With the ball they obviously have Rashid Khan, one of the best bowlers the shorter format has ever seen but the local options don’t look brilliant. One selection I’m looking forward to seeing is whether Joe Root is picked in the side for the first two games before he goes on test duty, personally he wouldn’t be in mine, especially with a couple of other ‘slower starters’ in the side.
Wildcard pick: Sam Cook
Cook has been good in red ball cricket for a few years now but had a poor record in t20’s until this season. To say this season has been a breakthrough season is an understatement. In the previous three seasons he had only played 10 games, taking 7 wickets at an average of over 40 and going at almost 9.5 runs per over. This season he managed 20 wickets at an economy of 7.8, surprisingly he wasn’t that effective in the powerplay, which is where you’d usually expect a swing bowler to be strongest. It was at the death where he was brilliant, taking 11 wickets (2nd most) at an economy of 7.7, the third best for bowlers that bowled at least 50 balls.
Though it’s often wise to be cautious over one good season at the death, as there are plenty of variables that can make stats look much better/worse than they actually are over a small sample size. Having said that it was still an impressive campaign and he has every chance of playing.
In terms of the playing XI, the Trent Rockets have plenty of options, including five top order batsman who are better suited to batting in the top 3; Hales, Malan, Wright, Short and Root. You’d think at least one, possibly two of those would have to miss out in the opening two games. Personally, I’m struggling to pick a top order from these options as three of them are fairly slow starters. Hales, Short and Malan are all locks, it’s just about whether they decide to try to get one of Wright or Root in the side as well.
On the bowling side of things, it looks to be spin to win for the Rockets as the pace bowling options look fairly weak. I expect Matt Carter and Samit Patel to join Rashid Khan as spinners in the XI. Possibly leaving only one pace spot in the side for Sam Cook, Luke Wood and van der Gugten to compete for. There isn’t really a standout option for them to with here, so I think they may end up going with Luke Wood purely for the left arm option.
Possible XI:
Strengths
Batting depth - Not only are they likely to have Gregory carded at 7, they also have bowlers after him capable of making a contribution, with Rashid Khan, De Lange and more so Wahab Riaz if he features in the tournament.
Rashid Khan - It seems stupid to name an individual player as a strength but with Rashid Khan you just have to. The most economical bowlers in t20’s since the start of 2018 and plays some outrageous shots with the bat. He is currently having his most economical year in t20’s since 2017.
Weaknesses
Pace bowling - They just don’t really have any standout options, even What Riaz, if he is available has been expensive in the last two years, going at 8.75 runs per over in comparison to 7.31 for the previous two years. De Lange had a good blast season so could provide them with a bit of extra pace.
Powerplay bowling - Not really too surprising that this a weakness given their pace bowling options. Matt Carter and Samit Patel do both quite a large percentage of their deliveries in the powerplay so depending on opposition opening partnership combinations they could be an option.
Slow starters - Malan, Root and Short are all liable to a slow start, which is less than ideal in an even shorter format than t20’s. With the batting depth they have, there should be no excuse for starting so slowly.
Player notes
Alex Hales - One of the best players not playing international cricket? His stats have gone through the roof in the last couple of years and he’s certainly doing everything in his power on the pitch to get back into the side. Basically all of the stats you want to increase as a batsman in the shorter format, he has done that in the past two years, including increasing his strike rate by over 20 and boundary percentage by nearly 5%. His stats against spina are all pretty good, considering it’s often referred to as a ‘weakness’ in his game. An absolute lock for this side and one of their most important players.
D’Arcy Short - I have mixed feelings about this signing as an overseas. He has been a run machine in the t20 blast and BBL but has struggled to make an impact at higher level tournaments. His strike rate has also been trending downwards in the last few years. Does have a high balls per dismissal rate against spin and offers something different with his part-time left arm wrist spin option.
Dawid Malan - His place in the England t20 squad is in some doubt after a poor run of form so a break from t20i’s might be what he needs. Batting cautiously to start is innings on flat pitches before exploding is typically what he did in an England shirt and Trent Rockets will be hoping he can do something similar here.
Joe Root - I’ll be honest I have no idea if he’ll play or not. He probably shouldn’t, particularly at number four and given some of the other top order players around him but he might play on reputation alone. Hasn’t played much t20 cricket at all in recent years so it’s difficult to judge and he did well in the blast for Yorkshire in 2020, before struggling in his four innings this season. Doesn’t hit sixes.
Tom Moores - Despite a poor run of form in the blast, I still expect him to get the nod over Ben Cox as keeper in the side initially. Being a LHB helps him and he also has a much better strike rate against spin than Cox.
Samit Patel - Has always been a reliable performer with the ball, bowling economically despite playing a lot of matches at Trent Bridge. With the bat he has found a new gear in the last couple of years, significantly increasing his strike rate and six hitting ability. Despite this, I expect he’ll drop below Gregory in the order if the situation dictates.
Lewis Gregory - Been a reliable finisher at blast level for a few years now and showed he was capable of more in the 50 over series against Pakistan. Good boundary percentage and also rotates strike well when needed. Expensive with the ball but does carry a wicket taking threat. Don’t expect him to bowl his full quota very often.
Rashid Khan - Have already covered most of what’s needed to be covered with Rashid Khan. Will be interesting to see what phase he bowls more often in, in t20’s he has carried a much greater wicket taking threat when held back, as players tend to look to see him off when he bowls earlier. The lower amount of balls will change how teams have to approach him, which could give him more of a wicket taking threat earlier in the innings. Wouldn’t surprise me if he is trialled as a pinch hitter at some point.
Wahab Riaz - As I’ve already mentioned his economy rate has sky rocketed in the last couple of years. The main reason for this is his death overs economy increasing from 7.8 in 2018 & 19 to just over 10 in 2020 & 21. More than useful with the bat and too good to be batting at number 9.
Luke Wood - Stats aren’t exactly amazing, economical but he has played a fair few games at Old Trafford which is one of the lower scoring venues in the blast. Bowls a high percentage of his overs in the powerplay, which combined with his left arm angle could give him the edge over the other pacers in the squad.
Matt Carter - Tall off spinner that has quietly gone about his business in the blast over the last few seasons. Good economy rate and regularly bowls in the powerplay which is an added benefit. Noticeably more expensive against RHB’s, which isn’t exactly surprising.
Luke Wright - Personally I’d probably have him in the XI, for a bit of added intent in the powerplay. In good form after a strong showing in the blast, scoring 306 runs at an average of over 40 and strike rate of 157. Struck at 173 and was only dismissed twice in 115 balls in the powerplay this season.
Steven Mullaney - Expect him to mainly be a back up player. Solid enough batsman with an okay boundary percentage, though stats have dropped off in the last couple of years. Operates almost exclusively through the middle overs with the ball.
Timm van der Gugten - Not in the best of form after going at 9.7 runs per over in the most recent blast season. Takes regular wickets at the death but is also very expensive, if you take out his international games for the Netherlands, he has gone at 10.96 in the blast at the death for Glamorgan since 2018.
Sam Cook - Mostly covered him already, think he is probably second choice amongst the three domestic pace bowlers.
Ben Cox - A player that I feel should have better numbers than he does. Seems to have plenty of shots but his overall stats are underwhelming. Boundary percentage of 13% is poor and is a slow scorer against spin. Perhaps he is often misused, as his death overs strike rate of nearly 170 isn’t awful, yet he faces less than 25% of his balls in this phase.
Marchant De Lange - Had a fairly successful season in the blast with Somerset, picking up 14 wickets, at an economy of just under 8. His method is to bowl quick, with minimal change ups in pace. Can be expensive at times.
Overall I think the Trent Rockets look like a really fun side to watch, with plenty of exciting players in their squad. I do have big concerns over the pace bowling unit and they could struggle to defend totals. The batting line up is long, though there is probably more top order players than is actually needed in the squad. I think they’ll be close to finishing in the top three but could just miss out.
Thanks for reading!
Stats: cricmetric
