Marizanne Kapp leads, De Klerk-Kelly finish as Spirit get on board

Marizanne Kapp - Star with the ball Kapp led London Spirit’s bowling attack and set the tone. Her spell restricted the opposition and gave Spirit control early. De Klerk & Kelly - Sealed the chase With the target in sight, De Klerk and Kelly came in and finished the job. Calm hitting under pressure got London Spirit over the line. First win of the campaign for London Spirit. After a few close losses, the bowling from Kapp + late hitting from De Klerk/Kelly finally got them on the board. Spirit won the toss and opted to field, and the Rockets, in the continued absence of Nat Sciver-Brunt, started badly, Beth Mooney bowled by Marizanne Kapp without scoring. After ten balls from Kapp, the Rockets were 2 for 1 but Sophia Dunkley carried on where she left off against Birmingham Phoenix, hitting a breezy, boundary-laden 23, including the only six of the innings. Sophie Luff went one run better but it was Australian Ash Gardner who did the bulk of the scoring, hitting five fours in her 34 before England's vice-captain Charlie Dean got the better of her. Rockets innings - Heath rescues 142-7 Bess Heath got Trent Rockets to a competitive total with an unbeaten 32 off 5 boundaries. Without her late hitting they would’ve been well short. Sophie Dean was economical for Spirit, but Marizanne Kapp was the standout: 3 wickets for 12 runs in 20 balls. Her miserly spell kept Rockets in check. Grace Harris smashed 37 off 20 with 3 huge sixes and Amy Jones joined her for a 54-run stand that broke the back of the chase. Then it unraveled: Harris, Jones, Kapp, and Sterre Kalis all fell quickly. 4 wickets down for 12 runs and suddenly Rockets were favourites again. But Marie Kelly and Nadine de Klerk calmed the nerves and then started enjoying themselves, putting on 63 as Spirit reached their target with three balls to spare. Kelly was stumped just before the end but de Klerk's second maximum sealed the deal, taking the London side level on points with Trent Rockets. Kelly said: "Hitting straight was not working so we went much squarer, stepping across and sweeping, when we needed 60 off 37 or so and it worked. My role was to kick on and we know we bat down to 11 so we just thought we should get on with it. London Spirit 146 for 5 (De Klerk 41, Kelly 39, Harris 37) beat Trent Rockets 142 for 7 (Gardner 34, Kapp 3-12) by five wickets