The Hundred: Trent Rockets continue dominant form with fifth straight win as Jos Buttler makes history for Manchester Super Giants

Trent Rockets extended their lead at the top of The Hundred table with a near-perfect performance that secured their fifth win in six games, leaving Birmingham Phoenix rooted to the bottom.

Sam Billings' unbeaten 31 sealed a scrappy chase after Phoenix stuttered to 111-6 despite Joe Clarke's 50, while Jos Buttler made history for the Manchester Super Giants as he became the leading Twenty20 run-scorer of all time.

After the 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. 25 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 fell for six off 16 balls, with the visitors appearing tentative against a disciplined attack led by outstanding performances from spinners Calvin Harrison and Mitch Santner, along with Lewis Gregory.

Only Joe Clarke, Phoenix's leading run-scorer this season, managed to break free, reaching a half-century from 37 balls before finishing with 62 off 47. He became the fourth victim of Craig Overton's safe hands, with the catches setting a competition record. Of the remaining batters, only Laurie Evans reached double figures as Phoenix limped to an underwhelming 111-6 from their 100 balls.

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

Mystery spinner Usman Tariq removed Duckett for 22 and delivered his customary bow celebration, conceding just six runs from his first 10 balls. However, there were simply not enough runs on the board, with 113 becoming the lowest total ever successfully defended in The Hundred men's competition.

Nye Donald came and went after a typically pugnacious six-ball 17, before Allen and Billings calmly rotated the strike at around a run a ball. Two successive sixes from Billings off Saqib Mahmood, including an outrageous slog sweep, accelerated the finish, and the result was all but confirmed when Allen holed out to Tariq at short mid-on for 28 with only six runs required.

The 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.

Gregory 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."