Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit: Fight For The Top 4th Spot

Cricket

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit: At Edgbaston, London Spirit will play Birmingham Phoenix in their final league-stage match of The Hundred 2023. With a victory, they would move up to the top 4 in the standings, keeping them in the running for the playoffs.With just one victory in seven games, the host team is already out and is last in the standings. The Phoenix’s lone victory came in their final home game, where they stopped 160 runs.

Birmingham Phoenix haven’t had much success despite having a strong batting lineup that includes Will Smeed and Ben Duckett at the top and Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali in the middle order.

London Spirit have a strong bowling assault with Daniel Worral, Liam Dawson, and Ravi Bopara in a terrific rhythm, despite going into this game off a defeat.

Match Details to Note:

Match: Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit

Date: August 24th, 2023 (Thursday)

Time: 02:00 PM IST

Venue: Edgbaston Stadium, Birmingham, United Kingdom.

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit

Birmingham Phoenix (Match Odds- 2.10)

Preview

For the last match this season, Birmingham Phoenix will take the pitch in front of the home crowd. With only one victory in seven games, it has been a pretty poor season.

They have only won one of their two home games and enter this contest after losing their previous two games. The manner in which Birmingham lost each of these games, not simply the results themselves, disappointed the fans.

It is not anticipated of them to finish for 116-9 in 100 balls while pursuing a 163-run target given the kind of batting firepower they possess and the depth of their squad.

Additionally, the Birmingham Phoenix defeated the Southern Brave at The Rose Bowl, scoring 119-8 while getting the ball first. Phoenix’s season has been typified by two completely disappointing outings following a convincing victory at home.

Even when they get off to a strong start, the middle-order has failed them because the openers have been erratic. To get things going, Jamie Smith and Livingstone at positions 3 and 4 are essential.

To prepare the hitters who will come after them lower down the order, these two must work well together. In the lower order, Moeen Ali will be followed by Chris Benjamin, Benny Howell, and Chris Woakes.

The pace attack for the home team will be led by Chris Woakes and Adam Milne. They have outstanding backing from people like Benny Howell and Kane Richardson.

Full Squad:

Chris Woakes, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (Captain), Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith, Miles Hammond, Shadab Khan, Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Tom Helm, Will Smeed, Kane Richardson, Chris Benjamin, Dan Mousley

Players to watch out for:

Ben Duckett

A promising but untamed talent named Ben Duckett had a season in 2016 that threatened to change everything, culminating in a call-up for England’s winter tours of Bangladesh and India. Career-best performances in all three formats, including the Lions’ one-day double-hundred, Northamptonshire’s sixth-highest first-class score, and a prominent role on NatWest Blast Finals Day.

Kane Richardson

Cricketer for Australia’s national team, Kane William Richardson.
The 2010 Under-19 Cricket World Cup was won by Australia’s Under-19 squad, who Richardson previously played for as a youth. Richardson has represented Australia in both One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals since 2013. Richardson also played for Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning team in 2021.

Possible Playing XI:

Will Smeed, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (c), Chris Benjamin, Benny Howell, Chris Woakes, Adam Milne, Kane Richardson, Tanveer Sangha

London Spirit (Match Odds- 1.75)

Preview

After their latest defeat, which happened at a bad time, London Spirit will be disappointed. They would have qualified for the top four with a victory there, but now their final game is a make-or-break affair.

Despite playing the team in last place, they must be at their best in Edgbaston. The opposition has great players in every position, therefore London Spirit needs their key players to be at the top of their game.

Dan Lawrence, the team’s captain, has struggled recently at number 3, and London Spirit are quite concerned about his form.

Big names like Matthew Wade, Daryl Mitchell, and Ravi Bopara may provide a powerful finish in the middle and lower middle order. Batting all-arounder Matthew Critchley is another capable player in the lower order. He is positioned at number 7.

This team has a long list of all-rounders, which provides for considerable depth in the batting order, with even Liam Dawson hitting a couple balls out of the park late in the game.

Before struggling in the last innings, opener Adam Rossington had a couple solid innings. If he regains his form, the visitors may have a powerful top order partnership and a strong start.

With the ball, Liam Dawson and Daniel Worrall have a smooth rhythm and are frequently successful. Along with veteran all-rounder Ravi Bopara, these two bowlers will be crucial.

Full Squad

Liam Dawson, Dan Lawrence, Zak Crawley, Mark Wood, Olly Stone, Nathan Ellis, Adam Rossington, Chris Wood, Ravi Bopara, Michael Pepper, Daniel Worrall, Matt Critchley, Matthew Wade, Daryl Mitchell, Jordan Thompson, Mason Crane

Players to watch out for:

Zak Crawley

The batting lineup’s success in the last two games can be attributed, in part, to Zak Crawley. Crawley can score runs swiftly and has superb timing.

Nathan Ellis

In the contest, Nathan Ellis is anticipated to perform. He stands out from other Australian bowlers because of his many ball-handling skills.

Possible Playing XI:

Daniel Lawrence (c), Zak Crawley, Adam Rossington (wk), Matthew Wade, Daryl Mitchell, Michael-Kyle Pepper, Matthew Critchley, Liam Dawson, Chris Wood, Nathan Ellis, Daniel Worrall

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit Head To Head

Birmingham Phoenix is currently leading the race with two wins from two games played against London Spirits.

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit Toss Prediction

Despite the fact that both teams had poor batting performances before to this match, scoring runs will be the best course of action. At this field, scoring runs is not tough, thus if the team batting first can reach 145–150 runs, they will be in a strong position.

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit Pitch Report

On this surface, there isn’t much for the bowlers to work with, and the batters will have no trouble scoring runs. With balls that would worry the batters, it is challenging to get wickets. On the day of the game in Edgbaston, there will be rains and a high of 21 degrees Celsius.

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit Match Report

While both sides struggle with consistency, the visitors have some optimism because their hitters have recently contributed significantly to certain games. Their bowlers are in fantastic form as well and have consistently taken wickets. Since London Spirit will start with an advantage and is currently in the worst position in this league, they are the favourites to win this game.

London Spirit is expected to win the match at the odds of 1.75

Birmingham Phoenix vs London Spirit The Most Recommended Player To Bet:

The batting lineup’s success in the last two games can be attributed, in part, to Zak Crawley. Crawley can score runs swiftly and has superb timing. He is the most recommended player of the match to bet on.

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