Birmingham Phoenix (BPH) will be eyeing a third consecutive win, while Welsh Fire (WEF) will be keen to keep their playoff hopes alive when both franchises lock horns at Edgbaston cricket ground in match 23 of the Hundred.
Moeen Ali & Co defeated Oval Invincibles by six wickets in their last game and have six points from five games. Birmingham Phoenix’s all three wins have come at Edgbaston. Meanwhile, Welsh Fire, seventh in the points table, has lost three games in a row. A defeat against Birmingham Phoenix could leave them on the brink of elimination.
Team News
After grabbing convincing wins in the last two fixtures, Birmingham Phoenix is unlikely to tinker with their playing eleven. The opening duo – Finn Allen and Will Smeed – has played a significant role in the victories over Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles. They set the tone with quickfire starts, and 19-year-old Smeed has scored 81 runs from two innings at a strike rate of 197.
Moeen had an excellent outing against Oval Invincibles with the bat. The Birmingham Phoenix captain, who is the franchise’s leading run-scorer in the tournament, made 49. The wicketkeeper-batsman Chris Benjamin, too, impressed with an unbeaten 37.
Adam Milne and Pat Brown leaked runs in the six-wicket win over Oval Invincibles. But Brown managed to pick up two wickets and is expected to feature in the playing eleven tonight. Frontline spinner Imran Tahir will be hoping to find his rhythm at Edgbaston. He is yet to pick up a wicket in the franchise’s home matches.
The batting unit has let down Welsh Fire in the last two matches. They struggled to up the tempo and lost a flurry of wickets in the final 20 balls of the innings. However, Glenn Phillips’ half-century at Sophia Gardens on Friday would have been a massive relief for Gary Kirsten, the Welsh Fire head coach. Despite playing just three matches, Leus du Plooy has managed 90 runs in the tournament.
Welsh Fire opener Tom Banton will be under pressure after scoring just 60 runs in the tournament so far. He had perished inside the powerplay in four of the five matches. The 22-year-old also had three opening partners and the latest being Ian Cockbain, who managed to score 16 against Trent Rockets.
James Neesham had another disappointing outing with the bat as the all-rounder could only muster four runs against Trent Rockets. Apart from Qais Ahmad, the rest of the Welsh Fire bowlers have been inconsistent. Injuries to Jake Ball and Liam Plunkett have weakened the pace attack, which is relied on David Payne, who is yet to pick up a wicket away from home.
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (previous match)
BPH: W Smeed (65 pts), M Ali (64 pts), P Brown (54 pts), C Benjamin (48 pts), B Howell (42 pts)
WEF: G Phillips (78 pts), Q Ahmad (57 pts), L du Plooy (37 pts), M Milnes (30 pts), D Payne (29 pts)
The Hundred Stats
Most Runs: BPH – M Ali (130 runs); WEF – B Duckett (203 runs)
Most Wickets: BPH – A Milne (7 wickets); WEF – Q Ahmad (7 wickets)
Most Sixes: BPH – L Livingstone (8 sixes); WEF – L du Plooy (5 sixes)
Most Fours: BPH – F Allen (12 fours); WEF – B Duckett (24 fours)
Most Catches: BPH – W Smeed, B Howell, I Tahir (3 catches); WEF – T Banton, J Cobb (3 catches)
Squads
BPH (likely): F Allen, W Smeed, L Livingstone, M Ali, C Benjamin, M Hammond, B Howell, A Milne, T Helm, P Brown, I Tahir
WEF (likely): T Banton, I Cockbain, B Duckett, G Phillips, L du Plooy, J Neesham, G White, Q Ahmad, L Fletcher, M Milnes, D Payne
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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