THE HUNDRED, 2025
Liam Livingstone and Chris Wood picked up a brace of wickets © Getty
Manchester Originals stumbled to their fifth defeat of the season after their batters struggled to get going against Birmingham Phoenix at home. Phil Salt managed 31 at the top of the order and Heinrich Klaasen limped to a 35-ball 34 as the Originals were restricted to 109 for 7, courtesy a strong and combined bowling effort.
Liam Livingstone and Chris Wood bowled 35 balls between them for four wickets and just 22 runs to tie the hosts down. In response, Phoenix coasted to a seven-wicket victory with Ben Duckett (49* off 38) and Joe Clarke (40 off 21) leading the way.
The down-on-luck Originals chose to bat at home and suffered almost immediately. Salt started brightly but his opening partner Ben McKinney fell for two inside the PowerPlay. Right after this phase, Salt fell for a brisk 34 and Jos Buttler departed for a run-a-ball five. Rachin Ravindra hit a four and a six but could only sustain for seven balls, leaving the Originals tottering at 58 for 4.
Klaasen found himself in a situation to mop up some early mess, and was expectedly circumspect going ahead. He attempted to push on in the company of Matthew Hurst, who eventually fell for a 11-ball five following a 27-run stand with the South African. Klaasen trudged back next after pushing the team just past the 100-run mark and the team finishing on an underwhelming total.
Will Smeed fell inside the PowerPlay in the chase but Duckett and Clarke got together for a 72-run alliance that all but wrapped up the chase. Though Ish Sodhi was welcomed with a six in the middle-overs, he, Rachin Ravindra and left-arm spinner Tom Hartley operated in tandem and slowed the scoring a touch. Duckett and Clarke had all the time in the world, however, to surgically set the chase up. Duckett changed tune just after the halfway stage when he tonked Sodhi for two fours and a six in a set.
Josh Tongue returned to dismiss Clarke, but by then the equation was down to 19 from 37 deliveries. Sonny Baker, who gave away just 13 in his first 15 deliveries, was taken for a six by Duckett that hastened the chase. The opener ended one short of a half-century, but managed to be the one to put the finishing touches to the chase – a boundary off Scott Currie – with 17 balls to spare.
Brief Scores: Manchester Originals 109/7 in 100 balls (Heinrich Klaasen 34, Phil Salt 30; Liam Livingstone 2-11, Chris Wood 2-11) lost to Birmingham Phoenix 113/3 in 83 balls (Ben Duckett 49*, Joe Clarke 40; Josh Tongue 2-34) by 7 wickets
© Cricbuzz
