Birmingham Phoenix (BPH) and Southern Brave (SOB) will lock horns against each other in the final of the inaugural edition of the Hundred. A first-place finish helped Birmingham Phoenix seal direct qualification to the final, while Southern Brave hammered Trent Rockets by seven wickets in the eliminator.
Both teams had met once in the league stage, with Southern Brave clinching a four-wicket win. An unbeaten 104-run stand between Liam Livingstone and Miles Hammond took Birmingham Phoenix to 151. However, James Vince’s half-century and a 17* off nine balls from Chris Jordan steered the Southampton-based team to a victory.
Team News
Moeen Ali, released from the England squad, will captain the franchise at Lord’s tonight. The all-rounder has scored 189 runs at a strike rate close to 155. Meanwhile, Finn Allen will be unavailable as the 22-year-old has headed to Bangladesh to join the New Zealand squad, which will play five T20Is against the Asian nation. Birmingham Phoenix has drafted in Durham wicketkeeper David Bedingham as a replacement for the Kiwi batter.
In the absence of Allen, Livingstone – the leading run-scorer in the tournament – is likely to open the batting with Will Smeed. Livingstone had donned the opener’s role for Lancashire in the Vitality Blast 2021. The presence of Moeen and Tom Abell adds strength to the batting department. The franchise is likely to retain the same bowling unit from the victory against Northern Superchargers.
Southern Brave produced a ruthless performance against Trent Rockets to seal their place in the final. It was the pacers who stole the show. George Garton and Tymal Mills grabbed a three-wicket haul, while Jordan and Craig Overton picked up two wickets each. Ireland’s Paul Stirling scored a brisk 31, while captain James Vince hit an unbeaten 45.
The pitch has favored bowlers in the three matches hosted at Lord’s so far. Also, the team batting first has won all three fixtures. Southern Brave clinched a five-wicket win over London Spirit in the league stage match played at Lord’s. Alex Davies scored a half-century, and Garton and Jordan claimed two wickets.
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (previous match)
SOB: T Mills (93 pts), G Garton (83 pts), C Overton (62 pts), J Vince (59 pts), C Jordan (56 pts)
BPH: L Livingstone (218 pts), B Howell (58 pts), A Milne (56 pts), T Abell (21 pts), D Pennington (16 pts)
The Hundred Stats
Most Runs: BPH – L Livingstone (302 runs); SOB – J Vince (225 runs)
Most Wickets: BPH – A Milne, B Howell (10 wickets); SOB – J Lintott (10 wickets)
Most Sixes: BPH – L Livingstone (23 sixes); SOB – Q de Kock (7 sixes)
Most Fours: BPH – L Livingstone (18 fours); SOB – J Vince (26 fours)
Most Catches: BPH – W Smeed (5 catches); SOB – Q de Kock (11 catches)
Squads
BPH (likely): W Smeed, L Livingstone, M Ali, T Abell, M Hammond, C Benjamin, B Howell, D Pennington, A Milne, P Brown, I Tahir
SOB (likely): Q de Kock, P R Stirling, J Vince, A Davies, T David, R Whiteley, C Jordan, G Garton, C Overton, T Mills, J Lintott
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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