Rashid Khan four-for, Alex Hales 68 put Trent Rockets back on track

Trent Rockets 166 for 4 (Hales 68, Banton 36, Root 32) beat London Spirit 144 (Critchley 37, Jennings 31, Rashid 4-24) by 22 runs

Alex Hales wound back the clock to fire Trent Rockets back into the top three of the Hundred men’s competition with a 22-run win over London Spirit at Trent Bridge.

The 35-year-old T20 World Cup winner cleared the ropes five times in a typically powerful innings of 68 from 42 balls, before Rashid Khan claimed three wickets in his first six balls to effectively ice the game, save for a couple of massive blows from Andre Russell.

“The most important was pitching the ball in the areas I wanted to,” Rashid said, adding of his battle with Russell: “That’s what makes this competition beautiful: playing against the best in the world. I always enjoy such competition with the good batters and that’s true about Russell.”

Rockets, who had lost their previous two games after botching run chases, posted 166 for 4 with Tom Banton and Joe Root providing hard-hitting support of their own for Hales.

Hales had not passed 38 in his previous 11 innings in the competition but found his groove as the Rockets added 93 from the second 50 balls of their innings – the only moment of concern coming when Hales was temporarily felled by a Nathan Ellis beamer.

Banton thrashed 36 from 25 balls to set a platform while Root’s enduring know-how ensured a strong finish to the innings with 32 from 23 balls.

Afghanistan legspinner Rashid then made an immediate impact with the ball on his way to figures of 4 for 24.

Spirit skipper Dan Lawrence’s attempt to attack Rashid early backfired, picking out Rovman Powell on the rope from his second ball, before Shimron Hetmyer was judged lbw on review from the next.

Keaton Jennings hit 31 from 18 only to direct his normally reliable reverse sweep into the gloves of Banton as Rashid again showcased the match-defining qualities that has made him a star in white-ball competitions across the world.

Russell responded by dispatching Rashid out of Trent Bridge with a mighty six that got the 10,564 fans off their feet. The Jamaican allrounder crunched another massive blow into the stands while John Turner had to be removed from the attack as a second beamer hit Russell.

But just as the hosts had started to feel the pressure, Luke Wood expertly produced a slower ball that kept low and found Russell’s off stump.

Matt Critchley offered some late hitting, with 37 from 30 balls, but Sam Cook closed him out and there was too much left to do as defeat left Spirit with just one win from their five games and their hopes of reaching the knockout stage all but over.