Birmingham Phoenix will take on Southern Warriors in the 100-over elimination tie at the Kia Oval on Saturday after beating Manchester Originals by nine wickets.
In a match that was reduced to 30 goals per team in poor conditions, Moeen Ali’s home side emerged victorious, earning themselves the points they needed to secure a top-three finish.
Phoenix chased down their 42-run target with ease and Jamie Smith set the tone for the chase by bowling Fazal Haq Farooqi out twice in the first five balls.
After Farooqi’s second five-ball quieted down, Ben Duckett smashed Tom Aspinwall’s first ball for six and then added the next as Birmingham poured in Three of the four overs hit the boundary and the referee was unmoved, determined to see the outcome of the game.
Smith was bowled by Sikandar Raza at cover boundary for 14 but Duckett (22 not out) and Moeen were The remaining 7 overs were completed off 8 balls, with the skipper beating Currie for 6 to secure the win-leg.
Winning the toss and bowling first, the Birmingham Phoenix struck early with New Zealand pacer Adam Milne removing Matthew Hurst from the line in his second of the match A legal throw was removed and the young Lancastrian slipped a chance through midfield to Liam Livingstone.
Milne’s fellow New Zealander Tim Southee took the second set but was immediately knocked into the stands by Phil Salt. He was then cut to short third by Max Holden on the final ball of the power play, as the Raw extended their lead to 15-1.
At half-time of the innings, with the score 22-2, Salter (12) mistimed a catch from Milne on the 15th ball of the over, giving Livingstone his second catch of the night. .
Sean Abbott then hit Paul Walter (1) to make it 24-3. Holden (15) went on to swing hard and left-hander Southee struck another boundary, but his luck soon ran out as Livingstone caught the third catch and he failed to cross mid-on.
Chris Wood ended the innings conceding just three runs and caught Raza’s catch at deep mid-wicket off Jacob Bethell. Wickets. The Originals finished with a record of 41-5, hitting only one six in each innings.
Phoenix needed only to chase 42 points to win the trip to south London, which they did with ease, ensuring Andrew Flintoff’s first year as Northern Superchargers manager ended in fourth place
Man of the Match: Adam Milne
“Coming out of the shortened tournament and into the Top 100 knockout round was great for us,” said Milne, who won 2-8.
“There’s a little swing and seam, so it’s nice to use it first, but anything can happen in these shortened games, so [you] Mix it up.
“Anytime it moves off the straight it’s good. A lot has been said but as a bowler sometimes in these shorter formats it’s good to have a little bit going your way and there might be a flat ‘s wickets and there hasn’t been a lot of movement, so it’s nice to see a bit of wobble and seam here and there.
Phoenix women and originals share spoils in rain-damaged derelict
Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Originals ended their journey to the 2024 Hundred after being forced to forfeit points due to heavy rain.
Both teams were hoping to finish on a higher note after disappointing seasons, but the weather turned better and Phoenix settled down with a two-game win by 98 points. .
It was a frustrating end to the season especially for Ellyse Perry, with Phoenix, like the original team, finishing outside the top three.
Perry was probably the dominant figure in the match, batting beautifully with 45 from 39 balls, but Perry and Amy Jones were forming a useful partnership and the weather put a damper on their peak, 30 balls left.
Earlier, Lauren Filer bowled with pace and fire to dismiss Sterre Kalis with 18 and Phoebe Graham finished with 18 Defeated Fran Wilson, but that was as good as it got for the original team.
What to do next?
The Top 100 will continue on Saturday, August 17, with the knockout rounds taking place on Oval invincible women’s clothing and london spirit woman Watch Sky Sports Cricket at the Kia Oval from 1.45pm and Sky Sports Main Event from 2.30pm.
and then between the eliminators Birmingham Phoenix Men’s Team and Southern Brave exist The Sky Sports Cricket match starts at 5.30pm.
Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app, allowing Sky Sports customers to watch more than 50% of live sports for free this year. Learn more here.
