The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Joe rooting for Rashid Khan in Hundred
Joe Root believes Trent Rockets teammate Rashid Khan can showcase his “wonderful” talent in The Hundred’s inaugural season.
England Test captain Root and Afghanistan leg-spinner Khan will line up for the Rockets in their opening match at Trent Bridge on Saturday against Southern Brave.
“I’d much rather have him on my side than against me, that is for sure. You look at his record in short-format cricket, wherever he’s gone he’s been wonderful,” Root said.
“He’s a fantastic asset and clearly one of the shining lights in white-ball cricket, especially the shorter format, so this is really tailor-made for him.
“I’m very much looking forward to seeing him perform and hopefully he’ll have a real big impact for the Rockets this season.”
Khan, 22, is an established star in the Indian Premier League and considered one of the world’s leading bowlers in T20 cricket, but Root is convinced the Afghanistan T20 skipper has plenty more to his game.
“We had a practice game and he was very influential and of course he can bat as well,” Root said. “He’s very useful down the order, can score some very handy runs, can hit from ball one and very difficult to set fields to.
“So he’s a wonderful all-round package and certainly someone who all opposition will try and find the best way of playing him.”
■ London Spirit launched their campaign with a three-wicket victory over Birmingham Phoenix as The Hundred arrived in the Second City with a real thriller at Edgbaston. In front of a boisterous 6,317 crowd, the Spirit were faced with the challenge of keeping up with the Joneses after the Phoenix, batting first, were lifted to 128 for six in their 100 balls by local pair Eve and Amy Jones who added 64 in 41 balls.
Only those two got past 13, however, against an accurate Spirit attack led by Charlotte Dean (one for 15 from 15 balls) and Freya Davies (one for 19 from 20).
The Spirit then reached their target with four balls to spare after Naomi Dattani (34 off 19 balls) supplied a lightning start and Deepti Sharma added a skilful 28 off 21.