Southern Brave men’s team are alive in The Hundred after a desperate scramble to defend just 128 against Birmingham Phoenix in front of a crowd that flipped from subdued to raucous as Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Luke Wood clinched it at the death.
A first victory in four attempts keeps them in contention for the latter knockout stages and draws them level with the Phoenix, who will be asking themselves how they contrived to mismanage what looked at the halfway stage to be a routine run-chase.
After a cautious but solid start with Phoenix reaching 52-1 after 47, three quick wickets turned the contest on its head.
Will Smeed was caught at long-on trying to launch Wood into the bleachers. Then Rehan Ahmed, immediately after scooping Jordan for six, miscued a slog into the outer, where Archer made good ground from long-on.
The skipper Donovan Ferreira then came and went, clean bowled by Archer hoicking across the line to leave the Phoenix at 65-4, still needing 64 from 39 balls.
A brief rebuild between Laurie Evans and Mitchell Owen was ended by Marcus Stoinis, who induced a nick from Evans, and when Adil Rashid accounted for Owen, bowled off the under-edge, the Phoenix had lost five wickets in 30 balls.
Marcus Stoinis was the Player of the Match
Stoinis was the difference-maker in both innings, bringing energy to the Brave’s stuttering innings, depositing Scott Currie for back-to-back sixes – the second carrying 98 metres – and punching his way to 34 before falling to one of the catches of the tournament from Ferreira at short cover. And then with the ball, he bowled 10 balls in a row for just three runs to stymie the Phoenix’s progress, building the pressure that brought the collapse.
With 15 balls to go, the game was still alive, but a stunning final five from Archer, conceding just two runs, stretched the equation to 29 from the last 10. Sean Dickson planted Jordan for a brace of sixes, but Wood held his nerve to ice the game, claiming two wickets, allied to a cool run out from Rashid, as the Brave somehow got home by 12 runs.
“We needed that! Batting first it’s hard to know what a good score is, even though you feel like it might not be the best wicket, it’s still hard to convince yourself to play in a certain way,” said Meerkat Match Hero Marcus Stoinis.
“On the other foot, you know how to bowl on it. On a wicket like this, it’s about subtle changes of pace and staying consistent.”
What’s next in The Hundred?
Manchester Super Giants host Trent Rockets on Friday, live on Sky Sports, with the women’s match at 3pm followed by the men’s fixture at 6.30pm. Watch The Hundred and more contract-free on NOW
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