Birmingham Phoenix stayed in with a chance of reaching playoffs, with a convincing win over London Spirit by 7 wickets with 35 balls to spare, at Edgbaston today.
Points Table
Match Analysis
A classy all-round performance from skipper Liam Livingstone took Birmingham Phoenix to victory against an off-colour London Spirit in a statement victory that breathes new life into their campaign.
Starting the day at the foot of the table, the Phoenix knew defeat today would effectively end their hopes of progressing and they played with the requisite urgency of a team fighting to stay alive.
A run-rate enhancing demolition of the Spirit with 35 balls to spare puts them back in the mix ahead of a defining week for the tournament. They now join their opponents in a four-way tie on eight points, with three teams above them on 12. This competition is wide open.
This was Livingstone’s match. After Trent Boult squeezed a yorker under Jamie Smith’s bat to remove the Spirit dangerman for a duck in his first set, the skipper took centre stage, demonstrating his range of skills to induce a mishit from David Warner with an off-break, and then outfoxing Ollie Pope, on the sweep, with a leg-spinner.
Boult, leading his Kiwi cohort of quicks, then slipped back in to upend Ashton Turner’s leg stump just as the Australian was looking to open up; tellingly, Turner hit one of just two sixes across the whole of the Spirit’s innings.
When Will Smeed was yorked by Luke Wood from the second ball of the Phoenix’s innings, the pressure could have suffocated the batters to follow, but instead the occasion galvanised them. Ben Duckett was again subdued, departing for just 11, but Joe Clarke was immediately into his stride, careening to his maiden half-century for the Phoenix in a blaze of clean hitting, notably down the ground.
Clarke took the Spirit for nine fours and two sixes to break the back of the chase, leaving Livingstone and Jacob Bethell to enjoy themselves in front of a typically boisterous Edgbaston crowd, smashing an unbeaten partnership of 63 in just 25 balls, with Livingstone launching five sixes to leapfrog Jos Buttler at the top of this year’s men’s run-scoring chart.
Livingstone, who was named the Meerkat Match Hero, was thrilled with the performance and result. “We needed a win, but we had some confidence coming in to this one having played really well last game here at Edgbaston. The crowd are amazing, they get behind us every time we go out and play, so it’s always nice to put on a show for them.
“Our seam bowlers were phenomenal. I don’t think they missed a single yorker at the end, and then we managed to see it home with the bat. Sometimes it can be quite difficult going in after an early wicket and getting the tempo right, but Joe [Clarke] was brilliant today.
“We brought him in through The Draft to do that role, to take bowlers on at No.3 and give us some momentum, so he’s been fantastic, and he broke the chase for us.
“Back-to-back wins now. We know we’re up against it, all we can do is win our remaining games and see where we are.”
Match Summary
Birmingham Phoenix (Men) 131/3 (65 balls)
London Spirit (Men) 126/6 (100 balls)
Birmingham Phoenix (Men) won by 7 wickets
SCORECARD
Partnership
A dominant display at Edgbaston ??#TheHundred pic.twitter.com/d6s7cGHEfX
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 17, 2025
Match Stats
London Spirit (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-3 (Jamie Smith – 0.3 ov), 2-39 (David Warner – 5.5 ov), 3-67 (Kane Williamson – 10.2 ov), 4-81 (Ollie Pope – 12.3 ov), 5-108 (Sean Dickson – 16.4 ov), 6-122 (Ashton Turner – 19.1 ov)
Birmingham Phoenix (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Will Smeed – 0.2 ov), 2-46 (Ben Duckett – 5.5 ov), 3-68 (Joe Clarke – 7.5 ov)
Wagon Wheel
Playing XIs
Birmingham Phoenix (Men)
London Spirit (Men)
Match Details:
Date: Sunday, August 17, 2025 18:00
Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham
Toss: Birmingham Phoenix (Men) elected to bowl
Umpires: Arno Jacobs (South Africa) Martin Saggers (England) Paul Baldwin (England TV)
Match Referee: Will Smith (England)
© Cricket World 2025
