The Hundred Men's Competition 2023 

Match 14: BP vs WF

Preview 

Birmingham Phoenix (BP) will take the field against Welsh Fire (WF) in the 14th match of the ongoing edition of men’s Hundred at Edgbaston on Thursday (Aug 10). BP are still looking for their first win of the season. While their opening two games were called off due to rain, they were comprehensively beaten in their last game against Manchester Originals. BP are currently struggling at 7th place in the league standings with just 2 points and a negative run rate of -2.450.  They will be at loggerheads with Welsh Fire at Edgbaston, a team against which they have a clinical record. However WF have turned out better thus far, securing 4th place on the points table with 1 win after 4 games. 

BP are heading into this game on the back of a heavy 49-run loss against Manchester Originals. Chasing 161 for victory, BP lost wickets at regular intervals and were eventually bundled out for 111. Liam Livingstone, who scored 27 off 25 balls, was the top scorer for BP in the game. Livingstone is of paramount importance for BP, which looks depleted in the batting department. The English international stood tall in BP’s last outing against Manchester, where other batters even struggled to reach double digits. He has scored 200 runs in his last 7 matches at an average of 33.33 and a strike rate of 139. He has just returned from an injury but seems to be getting into his groove. He is the batter to keep an eye on. Will Smeed is another batsman to look out for. The opener has accumulated 208 runs in his last 10 matches at an average of 23.11 and a strike rate of 158.77. 

Bowling is BP’s strong suit with the likes of Benny Howell, Adam Milne and Kane Richarson in their ranks. The pace attack came good in the last game with Howell and Mille picking a total of 5 wickets. Tom Helm, who has bagged 15 wickets, in his last 10 matches will hold the key for Phoenix. Veteran Richardson will also have a crucial role to play on Thursday. 

In their most recent clash, WF were on course to a straightforward victory against Oval Invincibles after restricting them to 100-6 in a run chase of 139. However Tom Curran’s quickfire 38 led their charge, and the match eventually ended in a tie. Opener Joe Clarke top scored for the Welsh with an unbeaten 69. He now has scored 171 runs in his last 10 matches. Unfortunately, none of the other batters could provide him support. In fact, that’s been their problem this season so far. Besides Clarke, fellow opener Luke Wells has managed to score 93 runs from 3 innings at an imperious strike rate of almost 190. A lot is expected out of the likes of Stevie Eskinazi and Glenn Phillips but they failed to create any impact so far. 

WF’s bowling prowess, however, seems formidable. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf have taken the tournament by storm, picking 5 and 3 wickets, respectively, in their first three games. Moreover David Willey and David Payne are part of the lineup, having bagged 3 and 2 wickets, respectively, in the ongoing season.

Match Details

Match: BP vs WF, 14th Match, The Hundred Men's Competition 2023

Date: Thursday, August 10, 2023

Time: 11:00

Pitch and Weather Report

The Edgbaston pitch is favourable for batting, although seam bowlers have enjoyed some success at this wicket early on in the innings. Once the pitch goes through wear and tear and settles down a bit, batters then have the licence to thrill and play their shots. Spin bowlers are unlikely to get much assistance from the wicket. 

The Birmingham weather is expected to be good during the day and warm, with a patch of clouds and sun. 

BP vs WF Squads

BP: Moeen Ali (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Smeed, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Dan Mousley, Shadab Khan, Benny Howell, Adam Milne, Tom Helm, Kane Richardson, Chris Benjamin, Jacob Bethell , Henry Brookes, Miles Hammond, Chris Woakes

WF: Joe Clarke (wk), Tom Abell (c), Luke Wells, Stephen Eskinazi, Glenn Phillips, David Willey, Ben Green, Shaheen Afridi, Roelof van der Merwe, David Payne, Haris Rauf, Daniel Douthwaite, George Scrimshaw, Jake Ball, Chris Cooke, Jonny Bairstow

BP vs WF Probable Playing XIs

BP: Will Smeed, Ben Duckett, Moeen Ali (c), Liam Livingstone, Jamie Smith (wk), Dan Mousley, Shadab Khan, Benny Howell, Adam Milne, Tom Helm, Kane Richardson

WF: Luke Wells, Joe Clarke (wk), Stephen Eskinazi, Tom Abell (c), Glenn Phillips, David Willey, Ben Green, Roelof van der Merwe, David Payne, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Match Prediction

BP enjoys a spotless record against WF, but this time things might take a turn. BP are struggling to find their feet in the tournament and are yet to open their account this season. WF on the other have done well to remain in the top four this season. It is still early days, but Abell and co have hardly shown signs of slowing down and that is why we are backing them to win this encounter. 

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