Joe McConnell
Birmingham Phoenix meet Southern Brave in the Hundred Eliminator at the Kia Oval on Saturday after a nine-wicket win over Manchester Originals.
In a match reduced to 30 balls per side due to adverse conditions, Moeen Ali’s hosts prevailed, earning the point needed to secure a top-three finish.
Phoenix easily reached their target of 42, with Jamie Smith placing Fazalhaq Farooqi over the boundary twice in the first five balls, setting the tone for the chase.
After a quieter second five from Farooqi, Ben Duckett hit Tom Aspinwall’s first ball for six and then hit three of his next fours towards the boundary as rain poured down on Birmingham, with the umpires remaining unfazed, determined to see the match through.
Smith was caught at cover edge for 14 by Sikandar Raza off Scott Currie, but Duckett (22 not out) and Moeen made the remaining seven runs required with eight balls to spare, with the captain securing victory with a six off Currie over fine-leg.
After winning the toss and bowling first, the Birmingham Phoenix struck early, with New Zealand speedster Adam Milne removing Matthew Hurst from the second legal pitch of the match when the Lancaster youngster threw a ball to Liam Livingstone at mid-off.
Milne’s New Zealand partner Tim Southee took the second set and was immediately sent into the stands by Phil Salt. He was then cut to short-third by Max Holden on the final ball of the powerplay as the Originals extended their lead to 15-1.
At mid-innings, the Originals were 22-2, Salt (12) mis-timed a cross-pitch to Milne from the 15th ball of the innings, giving Livingstone his second catch of the evening.
Sean Abbott then edged Paul Walter (1), caught at deep cover, to make it 24-3. Holden (15) continued to pull hard, the left-hander stumping past Southee for another boundary, but his luck soon ran out when he failed to get beyond mid-off as Livingstone held onto a third catch.
Chris Wood closed out the innings, conceding just three runs and taking the wicket of Raza caught by Jacob Bethell at deep midwicket. The Originals finished on 41-5, hitting just one six in their innings.
Phoenix had just 42 points to chase to earn a trip to South London and did so with ease, ensuring that Andrew Flintoff’s first year as head coach of the Northern Superchargers would end with a fourth-place finish.
Player of the match: Adam Milne
“To come out of the abbreviated match and get into the Hundred Eliminator is very positive for us,” said Milne, who won 2-8.
“There was a little bit of swing and seam, so it was nice to use that first one, but in these shortened games anything can happen, so [you] just mix them.
“Any time he moves out of the straight it’s nice. A lot has been said about it, but as a bowler it’s nice to have a bit of movement sometimes in these shorter formats, there can be flat wickets and not much movement, so it’s nice to see a bit of swing and seam every now and then.”
Phoenix Women and Originals Women Share Loot in Rain-Drenched Abandonment
Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Originals ended their 2024 season in The Hundred with a rain-soaked abandonment as the teams were forced to share points.
Both teams wanted to finish on a high after disappointing seasons, but the tide turned with Phoenix up 98-2, before settling down.
For Ellyse Perry in particular, it was a frustrating end to a season that saw the Phoenix, like the Originals, finish outside the top three.
Perry was the dominant figure in the play, batting beautifully and reaching 45 off 39 balls, but as Perry and Amy Jones were building a useful partnership, the weather stopped them in their prime, with 30 balls still to play in their innings.
Earlier, Lauren Filer had bowled with pace and fire to remove Sterre Kalis for 18, and Phoebe Graham had caught Fran Wilson for 18, but it didn’t get any better for the Originals.
What will happen now?
The Hundred continues on Saturday, August 17 with an Eliminator between Oval Invincibles Women AND London’s Women of Spirit from the Kia Oval on Vscek Cricket from 1.45pm and Vscek Main Event at 2.30pm.
Then it’s the Eliminator between Birmingham Phoenix Men AND Brave Men of the South ON Vscek Cricket from 5.30pm.
Vscek+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, the NOW streaming service and the Vscek app, giving Vscek customers access to over 50 percent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.
