Kirstie Gordon saluted the snowball effect of The Hundred and the Ashes on the women’s sporting summer after Trent Rockets’ opening match in the 2023 edition of the competition.
Gordon took 1/17 from her 20 deliveries, but couldn’t prevent Southern Brave from emerging triumphant by 27 runs.
The Blaze captain, who also enjoyed a stint as part of Nottinghamshire’s women’s set-up, relished the opportunity to perform in front of a packed house at her adopted home.
“We had a great crowd in today, and it’s really cool to be the first game of the competition – I haven’t experienced that before,” she said.
“I think The Hundred fed into the Women’s Ashes this summer, where we saw big crowds that were incredible, and that buzz has transferred back to the Hundred this year.
“Just look at the number of kids lining up here for autographs. It felt like we had the Trent Bridge crowd behind us today, and every time we got a wicket you could feel that energy behind us.”
Gordon took to the field alongside the likes of Alexa Stonehouse, a 19-year-old bowler beginning to make a name for herself in the domestic game.
And the leg-spinner feels exposure to the big-match pressure cooker at an early age can only be beneficial.
“That’s the beauty of this competition – as Alexa keeps playing at this level and maybe goes on to play for England, she’ll already have had that experience of playing in front of 10,000 people,” she said.
“It’s something that I certainly thrive off, that crowd and that energy, and I was in my element out there.”
Having conceded 157 in their stint with the ball, the Rockets lost opener Bryony Smith to a first-ball run-out.
But Nat Sciver-Brunt gave the hosts hope with a quickfire 49 that her regional teammate felt was a textbook performance from the all-rounder.
“Who else would you want in that situation than Nat Sciver-Brunt?” Gordon said.
“She gave us that glimmer of hope, but we probably had too much to do after the first innings and the start we had with the bat, and it wasn’t to be in the end.”
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