In the battle between top and bottom, it was the form side Trent Rockets who extended their lead at the summit of the table, their fifth win in six games in a nigh-on perfect performance, leaving Birmingham Phoenix firmly rooted to the foot of the table.

After Rockets elected to field, Will Smeed broke an unwanted record by being the first batter in the Hundred history to be unbeaten without scoring at the end of the powerplay. Twenty-five runs came from that powerplay for the loss of Mitch Owen to Mohammad Amir, who had to leave the field with a strained hamstring immediately after taking the wicket.

Smeed eventually went for 6 off 16 and the visitors as a group seemed tentative against a well-drilled attack in which spinners Calvin Harrison and Mitch Santner, as well as Lewis Gregory, were outstanding.

Only Joe Clarke, Phoenix’s leading run-scorer this year, managed to break the shackles, going to a half-century off 37 balls and 62 off 47 in all before he became the fourth victim of Craig Overton’s bucket hands, those catches a competition record. Only Laurie Evans of the rest reached double-figures as the hundred balls finished with the score on an underwhelming 111 for 6.

After Amir’s departure, skipper Sam Billings had juggled his bowlers expertly as he searches for a fourth successive title in the Hundred. And when Rockets batted, there was little pressure on the openers, Ben Duckett and Finn Allen progressing smoothly to 29 for 0 in the powerplay.

Mystery spinner Usman Tariq got rid of Duckett for 22, prompting his customary bow celebration, and conceded just six from his first ten, but there were simply not enough runs on the board, 113 being the lowest score ever successfully defended in the Hundred men’s competition.

Nye Donald came and went for a typically pugnacious six-ball 17 then Allen and Billings simply knocked the ball around needing around a run a ball. Successive sixes from Billings off Saqib Mahmood, including an outrageous slog-sweep, hastened the end and it was academic when Allen hit Tariq to short mid-on for 28 with just six needed.

Rockets completed the victory with another Billings six, winning with 17 balls to spare to be sitting pretty with two games to come, their route direct to the final having got that bit easier.

Lewis Gregory, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “We were superb with the ball. We kept chipping away with important wickets. It was a little bit two-paced, with a bit of variable bounce at times. The bowling unit spoke about smashing the top of the stump as hard as we could… The guys up front with the bat have been outstanding. We’re in a really good position, playing some fantastic cricket, and hopefully we can continue that.”