Birmingham Phoenix registered a comfortable 7-wicket win over Manchester Originals to climb upwards in the points table even though both teams had been knocked out of the playoffs race even before this game got underway. Birmingham Phoenix played better than Manchester Originals and put in an all-round performance at Old Trafford. They first restricted Manchester Originals to 109/7 in 100 balls with captain Liam Livingstone and Chris Wood picking 2 wickets apiece.
In reply, Birmingham Phoenix rode on a couple of 40s from Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke to power past Manchester Originals by 7 wickets with 17 balls to spare. Birmingham with this win climbed to 4th in the points table while Manchester Originals slid to the bottom of the points table. Although both teams are officially out of the playoffs race.
Liam Livingstone & Chris Wood’s 2-wicket hauls restricts Manchester Originals to 109/7.
Winning the toss and deciding to bat first, captain Philip Salt and Ben McKinney came out to bat for Manchester Originals while Trent Boult had ball in hand for Birmingham Phoenix. Boult began with a tidy set as Adam Milne came onto bowl from the other end. Salt took the attack to Milne hitting him for a boundary and launching him for a maximum as well. Salt took the attack to Boult as well smashing him for a couple of sixes in three balls.
Liam Patterson-White came into the attack as Liam Livingstone dropped Salt at mid-on. But Patterson-White was not to be denied as he got rid of McKinney for 2 off 7 balls. He bowled a length ball around off-stump that gripped and turned back in a shade. McKinney hung back and looked to work it away on the leg side. He played down the wrong line and got beaten on the inside edge as the ball crashed onto the off-stump. Jos Buttler came out to bat next.
Buttler managed to get an edge through to the short third man fence for a boundary as Manchester Originals at the end of the 25 balls of powerplay were 34/1. Jacob Bethell came into the attack next as Salt crunched him through covers for a boundary. Bethell got the prized scalp of Philip Salt for 31 off 20 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes to his name. Bethell tossed it up full on the stumps, Salt cleared his front leg and looked to smash it over long-on fence. He mistimed it as he sliced it to Duckett at long-on who took it easily.
Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary off Bethell. Captain Liam Livingstone came into the attack and got rid of Buttler for 5 off 5 balls with a boundary to his name. Liam bowled a length ball around leg stump pitched and turned back in a shade, Buttler looked to lap it down to fine leg and missed it on the inside edge and wore it on the front pad. Huge appeal for LBW and the umpire was unmoved. Liam sent it upstairs and got it successfully overturned to OUT. Heinrich Klaasen walked out to bat next and got off the mark as well.
Livingstone bowled another decent set keeping things tight. Benny Howell came into the attack next. He too kept things under check. Ravindra broke the shackles a little bit smashing a maximum off Howell. After 50 balls at the halfway stage of the innings, Manchester Originals were 57/3. Livingstone came back and dismissed Rachin Ravindra for 13 off 7 balls with a boundary and six to his name.
Liam from around the wicket tossed it up around off-stump which gripped and turned away from the batter. Ravindra looked to work it away on the leg side and got a leading edge which lobbed up to Bethell at short extra covers. Matthew Hurst came out to bat next and got off the mark as well. Patterson-White bowled a decent set. Howell too kept things tight as runs came in singles and twos at the moment.
Klaasen finally broke the shackles by smashing Bethell for a maximum and then a boundary off consecutive balls. Klaasen managed to hit Livingstone for a boundary as well by playing the reverse paddle to short third man region. After 75 balls, Manchester Originals were 83/4. Liam then dropped a tough catch of Hurst off Benny Howell. But Howell knocked Hurst over a few balls later for 5 off 11 balls.
Howell bowled a length ball around middle stump line and was a knuckle ball pitched and jagged back in a shade. Hurst looked to thrash it away through the off-side and got beaten on the inside edge. The ball crashed onto the stumps. Tom Hartley came out to bat next. Chris Wood was finally introduced into the attack. Hartley was dropped by Ben Duckett off Wood.
Hartley managed to get consecutive boundaries away off Patterson-White. Soon, the 100 came up for Manchester Originals in 91 balls. Wood then got his man as he got rid of Heinrich Klaasen for 34 off 35 balls with 2 fours and a maximum to his name. Wood bowled it full and at the stumps with pace off the ball, Klaasen stayed deep in his crease and looked to smash it straight down the ground. He was through the shot a tad early. He mistimed it straight up in the air as Mousley at long-on settled underneath it to take the catch. Scott Currie came out to bat next and got off the mark.
Currie got dropped by Milne off Chris Wood. But Wood soon picked up his second wicket getting rid of Hartley for 11 off 11 balls with 2 boundaries to his name. Wood nailed the yorker at the stumps. Hartley shuffled far too across the stumps and missed the flick on the inside edge and wore it on the front pad. It was plumb and the finger was raised. Ish Sodhi came out to bat and got 4 leg byes from Wood as the fielding side burnt a review as well in the end. Manchester Originals finished with 109/7 in 100 balls with Currie on 2* off 3 balls. 6 extras given by the fielding side.
Liam Livingstone was the pick of the bowlers for Birmingham Phoenix with figures of 2/11 in 20 balls. Chris Wood chipped in with 2/11 in 15 balls. Liam Patterson-White chipped in with 1/18 in 20 balls. Jacob Bethell chipped in with 1/22 in 10 balls. Benny Howell chipped in with 1/17 in 20 balls. Trent Boult gave away 15 runs in 10 balls while Adam Milne gave away 11 runs in 5 balls. This meant Birmingham Phoenix needed 110 to win off 100 balls.
Ben Duckett & Joe Clarke’s attractive 40s took Birmingham Phoenix over the line.
Chasing 110 to win the contest, Will Smeed and Ben Duckett walked out to bat for Birmingham Phoenix while Sonny Baker had ball in hand for Manchester Originals. Baker delivered a miserly first set. He bowled the next set as well as Smeed hit him away for a boundary via a top edge. Josh Tongue came to bowl the next set and Duckett got into the act hitting a boundary through the covers. Smeed hit Baker for a boundary hammering him down the ground.
But Baker hit back and got rid of Smeed for 13 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name. He pitched it up around the fifth stump with extra bounce off the deck, Smeed looked to thrash it through the off-side and got a thick outside edge where Buttler took a regulation catch. Joe Clarke came out to bat next and got off the mark straightaway.
Clarke made his intentions clear straightaway as he hit Tongue for a hat-trick of boundaries. At the end of 25 balls of powerplay, Birmingham Phoenix were 33/1. Tom Hartley came into the attack post the powerplay. He bowled a decent set as well. Ish Sodhi came into the attack and welcomed with a maximum from Clarke. Rachin Ravindra came into the attack next and bowled another decent set as Duckett survived a minor scare.
Hartley also bowled a miserly set but the equation was under control for the batting side. Scott Currie came into the attack as Clarke thumped him over long-off for the maximum. After 50 balls of the chase, Birmingham Phoenix were 62/1 and needed a further 48 runs off 50 balls. Ben Duckett got stuck into Ish Sodhi as he smashed two boundaries and a maximum off five balls. He also hit a boundary off Hartley as well.
Clarke hit Tongue for a boundary over mid-off but the bowler came back and broke the partnership dismissing Clarke for 40 off 21 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to his name. He bowled full and wide outside off, Clarke shuffled far too across the stumps and initially thought of playing the ramp behind square on the leg side. Tongue bowled it wide outside off-stump and Clarke looked to adjust at the last moment to run it down to third man and got a faint outside edge to the keeper Buttler who did the rest. Liam Livingstone came out to bat next.
Currie bowled a decent set but the equation was down to 15 off 30 balls by now. Livingstone was dropped by Currie off Tongue. But Tongue got rid of Liam the next ball only dismissing him for 4 off 6 balls. He banged it in short into the wicket around off-stump as Livingstone looked to pull it away to the leg side. He mistimed it from the splice of the blade as Hurst at deep midwicket settled underneath it to take a good catch fingers pointing upwards. Jacob Bethell came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace.
The 100 came up for Birmingham Phoenix in 75 balls as they were 100/3 and needed a further 10 runs off 25 balls. Duckett was in a hurry as he smashed Baker for a maximum pulling him over deep backward square leg. The winning runs came off the blade of Duckett as he hammered Currie through covers for a boundary. Duckett remained unbeaten on 49 off 38 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes to his name while Jacob Bethell was unbeaten on 4 off 6 balls. 3 extras given by the fielding side as the chase was done and dusted in 83 balls with Birmingham winning by 7 wickets.
Josh Tongue got a couple of wickets and finished with 2/34 in 20 balls while Sonny Baker finished with 1/20 in 20 balls. Tom Hartley gave away 12 runs in 15 balls, Ish Sodhi conceded 23 runs in 10 balls. Rachin Ravindra bowled 5 balls for 4 runs and Scott Currie conceded 19 runs in 12 balls. So, Birmingham Phoenix won by 7 wickets with Joe Clarke awarded the Player of the Match.
Birmingham Phoenix with this win climbed upwards to 4th position with 12 points from 7 games while Manchester Originals slid to the bottom with 8 points from 7 games. Both teams are officially eliminated from the playoffs race though despite this result.
What Lies Ahead.
The bandwagon moves to the Oval in London where defending champions Oval Invincibles will host London Spirit in the London Derby at 11 PM IST. Oval will want to win and secure first position for a direct entry to the final while Spirit will want to end their campaign on a high. The last time these two sides met at the season opener, Oval won that game easily.
We shall see how things unfold from here on as Hundred 2025 enters its last stages with 4 games left before the playoffs and finals taking place over the weekend. So, still a lot to look forward to for all of us and ascertain who finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in the points table.