Match 10, Birmingham, August 12, 2025, 11:00 PM
Oval Invincibles
180/8(20.0ov)
Birmingham Phoenix
182/6(19.3ov)
Birmingham Phoenix beat Oval Invincibles by 4 wickets
Right then, what an eventful day of The Hundred action in Birmingham. The home side have just successfully gunned down the third-highest run chase in the history of the Men's competition and earlier on, we saw another high-scoring contest in the Women's game. The action just keeps on coming in this competition with a double header lined up next. First up on Wednesday, 13 August, it will be Southern Brave welcoming Northern Superchargers to Southampton and then the action will move to Cardiff with Welsh Fire taking on Manchester Originals. The first Men's game will begin at 7.30 pm IST (2 pm GMT), but you can join us for the build-up a lot sooner. Cheers!
The skipper of Birmingham Phoenix, Liam Livingstone is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his match-winning unbeaten knock of 69 runs from 27 balls. Liam says it feels very special to get on the board, especially against a side like Oval Invincibles, whom he calls a great team. He mentions that it is nice to get one over them and hopes the win can give his side momentum going forward. Livingstone shares that he tried to get used to the surface and targeted the opposition spinners as much as possible. He believes he has a pretty good record against Rashid Khan by stepping across, even admitting that he does not pick him well. Feels the team let themselves down in the field, particularly in terms of attitude.
The Presentation ceremony...
Earlier in the game, Liam Livingstone won the toss and put Oval Invincibles into bat. This turned out to be an excellent decision early on as Trent Boult sent the opening duo of the Invincibles packing pretty soon. But then came the counterattack from Jordan Cox and after stitching a couple of decent partnerships, he too got out. Donovan Ferreira came in and was like a breath of fresh air for the Invincibles. His ferocious knock and some very average bowling at the death by the Phoenix bowlers meant that the visitors put on a huge total on the board.
The mighty Oval Invincibles have fallen and how! The reigning champions lose their first game of the season and they will feel like it was a game that should have been won. They had the runs on the board, the early big wicket of Duckett as well and the batters at the crease weren't particularly in form. However, the lack of wicket-taking opportunities coupled with an uncharacteristic spell from Rashid Khan meant that someone else had to take up the mantle. Nathan Sowter did that brilliantly but the pacers couldn't get the wickets when needed. Saqib Mahmood did end up with three wickets, but two of those came when the game was all but over.
Needing 181 for the win and it seemed like 15-20 more than what the Phoenix would have liked. They didn't get a positive start either as Ben Duckett's slim run continued and the likes of Will Smeed and Joe Clarke found it difficult to time the ball. However, the duo of Smeed and Clarke kept going after it and the boundaries started to flow. Smeed ended up notching a fifty before getting out and then it was all about Liam Livingstone. The way Livingstone took down Rashid Khan was impressive to say the least and his exploits against Tom Curran in the penultimate set of five were enough to take his team over the line.
Wow, what a steal from Birmingham Phoenix and what a way to bring up your first win of the season, that too in front of the home crowd. A captivating contest from start to end and eventually, it was the Phoenix skipper Liam Livingstone who made all the difference.
In over# 20
4
0W
0W
Saqib Mahmood 28/3(2.3)
98
4
FOUR! Gets it through and that will do nicely for Birmingham Phoenix! Saqib hurls it full in length, honing in at the stumps, Benny gets in line of the ball and drives it between cover and mid off. Will Jacks gives it a chase from mid off and slides at the end but in vain. Phoenix win by 4 wickets with 2 balls to spare!
Benny Howell walks out to face the hat-trick ball.
OUT! BOWLED! Now then, two in two for Saqib Mahmood! Saqib darts the yorker in right at the base of the stumps, Louis Kimber is deep in the crease but fails to get his bat down in time to keep it out. The ball sneaks under the bat to rattle the stumps. Mahmood is on a hat-trick. Birmingham Phoenix need 3 runs from 3 balls.
97
W
OUT! BOWLED! Now then, two in two for Saqib Mahmood! Saqib darts the yorker in right at the base of the stumps, Louis Kimber is deep in the crease but fails to get his bat down in time to keep it out. The ball sneaks under the bat to rattle the stumps. Mahmood is on a hat-trick. Birmingham Phoenix need 3 runs from 3 balls.
Louis Kimber walks out to bat now. 3 needed off 4 balls.
OUT! LBW! Review taken by Dan Mousley but this looks to be more in hope than anything else. Lowish full toss, on off, Dan Mousley walks across to swipe it away on the leg side. The ball dips on him and sneaks under the blade to trap him right in front of the stumps. UltraEdge shows no bat and Ball Tracking shows that the ball is clipping the off stump. It is umpire's call. So, not as close as it initially looked but the on-field call is upheld. Birmingham Phoenix need 3 runs from 4 balls.
96
W
OUT! LBW! Review taken by Dan Mousley but this looks to be more in hope than anything else. Lowish full toss, on off, Dan Mousley walks across to swipe it away on the leg side. The ball dips on him and sneaks under the blade to trap him right in front of the stumps. UltraEdge shows no bat and Ball Tracking shows that the ball is clipping the off stump. It is umpire's call. So, not as close as it initially looked but the on-field call is upheld. Birmingham Phoenix need 3 runs from 4 balls.
In over# 19
1
2
6
6
4
Tom Curran 35/1(3)
95
1
Liam Livingstone will feel that he missed out here! Low full toss, outside off, there to be put away, Liam Livingstone reaches out and ends up getting it off the toe end towards long off. Just 3 needed off 5 balls for Phoenix.
94
2
Tom Curran executes the yorker to perfection, on middle, Livingstone gets his bat down and squeezes it out in front of long on. Liam comes charging back for the second run.
93
6
SIX MORE! That should do it for Birmingham Phoenix! Curran takes pace off and bowls it on a short of a length, on off, Liam collapses his back knee and gets under the ball. Clubs it over deep mid-wicket for another six and follows it up with a few words towards the bowler. 6 needed off 8 for Phoenix.