The Analysis: The value of the 10-ball set

ELIZABETH BOTCHERBY: Following in the footsteps of Alana King and Sarah Glenn, spinner Tabraiz Shamsi ripped the heart out of Oval Invincibles in the space of 10 balls

In the first match from The Hundred double-header at Trent Bridge, home captain Nat Sciver deployed the 10-ball set to good effect.

At the halfway stage, Oval Invincibles were cruising on 70 for 1 in pursuit of 113, the two points almost certainly heading back to the capital. Alice Capsey was swinging freely and raced to 24 off 16 while skipper Suzie Bates was 39 off 27.

Enter Sarah Glenn. Bowling her second set of the match, the England leg-spinner conceded two leg byes from her first four deliveries before sending Capsey packing, Katherine Brunt taking a simple catch on the boundary. Glenn retained the ball for the next set and delivered the goods once again, bowling Bates off the 60th delivery of the match. Her 10-ball set yielded 10 runs and two wickets.

Sensing a swing in momentum, Sciver stuck with spin and asked Australia's Alana King to work her magic. Her 10 deliveries during the first half of the innings had gone for just eight runs; she backed it up with consecutive wicket maidens. Marizanne Kapp had no answer to her variations, with slower balls, fuller deliveries and King's deceptive pace getting the South African in a tangle.

In the space of 20 balls, Oval Invincibles slipped from 43 required from 50 balls to 33 from 30. They made it over the line off the penultimate delivery but it was a far nervier finish than necessary and nearly a masterclass in captaincy from Sciver.

^{Alana King and Sarah Glenn both bowled 10-ball sets in the afternoon fixture [Gareth Copley/Getty Images]}

A few hours later, Lewis Gregory – Trent Rockets' men's captain – followed the Sciver playbook.

On a batter friendly surface at Trent Bridge, his side pummelled 181 runs against the Invincibles, Alex Hales starring with 59 off 29 and Colin Munro and Gregory sharing a rapid 41-run partnership off the final four sets.

Gregory's side bowled well for the first 30 balls, with Samit Patel, Sam Cook, Luke Wood and Daniel Sams combining to restrict the Invincibles to 30 for 1. Crucially, the in-form Will Jacks was sent back to the shed for just 11 (9).

Then, he introduced Tabraiz Shamsi. The South Africa international, a left-arm wrist spinner, has endured a mixed summer, leaking 49 runs in the first T20I against England before bouncing back with career-best figures of 5 for 24 in the third.

He was picked up by Trent Rockets as a partial replacement for Rashid Khan (international duty) and once again struggled to find his feet, conceding 45 runs from his 20 balls against Manchester Originals. He looked more comfortable against Northern Superchargers, posting figures of 0 for 22, but saw his five deliveries dispatched for 13 runs against Birmingham Phoenix.

He proved his worth against the Invincibles.

He started his allocation with a single before knocking over Jason Roy with a length delivery. The shoe came off in celebration, a livid Roy – out for a disappointing 20 (17) – stormed back to the changing rooms. Two dots followed before Sam Billings was pinned lbw.  

Gregory stuck with the spinner and reaped the rewards, three singles to finish his 10-ball spell and Oval Invincibles for 45 for 3, requiring 137 runs from 60 balls. As for Shamsi, if it wasn't for a six off his 20th delivery, his figures would have been 2 for 15. Then again, 2 for 21 is not at all shabby.

For Sciver, of course, the 10-ball sets made no difference to the overall result, her side simply did not have enough runs on the board. Gregory, by contrast, had a lot of runs to play meaning Shamsi's spell, though impressive, possibly wasn't quite game-changing.

But the value of the 10-ball set shouldn't be underestimated.

Related Topics

• Trent Rockets v Oval Invincibles AS IT HAPPENED