Jonny Bairstow gets better of battle with Joe Root to help Welsh Fire to victory

Jonny Bairstow got the better of long-time team-mate Joe Root as Welsh Fire beat Trent Rockets in a thrilling encounter at a raucous Trent Bridge in The Hundred.

Rockets appeared to be favourites but some brilliant catching in the deep by Fire turned the game in their favour and David Payne and Haris Rauf then delivered a nerveless final set to clinch the win by four runs.

The spectacular finale saw four wickets fall in the final 10 balls, with Rashid Khan becoming the second Rockets batter to be run out after Root had earlier been dismissed after a confusion in the running for 17.

Sam Hain was involved in both mix-ups, and although he remained unbeaten at the death, his 26-ball 22 was not enough to get the job done.

With Fire asked to bat first, Bairstow was the most fluent of all the batters on show, his 45-ball 55 proving to be the standout knock of a game in which the spinners held sway.

His contest with Root, who bowled a series of round-arm off-breaks from around the wicket, going for just 19 runs from his 20-ball quota, was one of numerous subplots as Fire fought for every run they could scavenge on a pitch taking appreciable spin.

Fighting score

Their 129 for six represented a fighting score, but with Root going nicely in reply after a brisk start from Alex Hales and Tom Banton, Rockets looked to be in control before the late collapse.

Bairstow said: “We’ve had a couple of close ones, it’s that kind of competition, and it’s bringing out different qualities in different players, especially the way our bowlers closed the game out, and the way that Abes [Tom Abell] captained – being brave at times when he needed to be.

“In the field if you can get two run outs, it’s always pretty handy. It’s two wickets that the bowlers don’t have to get, and the fielding was exemplary from all the boys. We’ve had a couple of defeats but nobody’s got too downbeat, everyone’s stayed pretty level, and we’ve spoken about going out and relishing he challenge.”

On his contest with his great friend Root: “He bottled it didn’t he! He didn’t even chuck one up! I said to him before he came on, ‘It’s me or you here’ and next thing I see he’s bowling lower than Malinga!”