Birmingham Phoenix defeat MI London in Hundred match
Birmingham Phoenix secured a five-wicket victory over MI London in their final Hundred match, with Ellyse Perry leading her side to success. The match, played at Edgbaston, Birmingham, saw the Phoenix chase down MI London‘s total with six balls remaining.
The Phoenix won the toss and elected to field first. MI London posted a total of 6-120. During MI London‘s innings, Ellyse Perry took a catch off Alana King, dismissing Chinelle Henry, who was the top-scorer for MI London with 42 runs. Alana King finished with figures of 1-25.
In response, Birmingham Phoenix reached 5-121 to seal the win. Ellyse Perry played a significant role in the chase, scoring an unbeaten 62 runs from 39 balls. Her innings included seven fours and two sixes. She was also involved in a 66-run partnership with Pakistan captain Fatima Sana. Perry ultimately struck the winning run for her team.
Perry expressed satisfaction with the win, stating it was “nice to finish on a high.” She commented on her team’s effort throughout the championship, noting that they had given their best on the field. Perry also mentioned her return to the Hundred after the World Cup win, highlighting the “wonderful summer” with good weather and impressive crowds, which she believes helped women’s cricket shine.
Despite the victory, Birmingham Phoenix had an underwhelming 2026 campaign in The Hundred. Perry‘s performance in this final game solidified her position as one of the tournament’s leading run-scorers, accumulating 223 runs at an average of 55.75. Other notable Australian players in the tournament included Phoebe Litchfield, who scored 289 runs, and Annabel Sutherland, with 273 runs, both playing for Sunrisers Leeds.
In another match, Georgia Wareham of Welsh Fire also ended her campaign with a half-century in their 15-run win against London Spirit in Cardiff. Wareham‘s knock of 50 runs came off 34 balls and included six fours and a six, contributing to Welsh Fire‘s total of 7-138. For London Spirit, Grace Harris took 3-15. In the chase, Grace Harris scored one run, and Heather Graham took 2-16, while Wareham claimed 1-29 as London Spirit were bowled out for 123.
The efforts of Wareham, similar to Perry, were not enough to secure a playoff spot for her team, as Welsh Fire finished fifth among the eight teams. Looking ahead in the competition, Trent Rockets, featuring Beth Mooney, captain Ash Gardner, and Kim Garth, have already secured a place in Sunday’s final at Lord’s. Leeds, with players like Litchfield, Sutherland, and Jess Jonassen, are set to face Sophie Molineux-led Southern Brave in the ‘eliminator’ semi-final on Friday.
The lineups for the Birmingham Phoenix Men vs MI London Men match included key players. For Birmingham Phoenix Men, the starting lineup featured Joe Clarke as wicket keeper, Mitch Owen, Joe Weatherley, Laurie Evans, Sean Dickson, Donovan Ferreira as captain, Jordan Thompson, Rehan Ahmed, Chris Wood, Saqib Mahmood, and Tom Helm.
The MI London Men‘s starting lineup included Will Jacks, James Vince, Nicholas Pooran as wicket keeper, Sam Curran as captain, Jason Roy, Sikandar Raza, Ollie Sykes, Tom Curran, Trent Boult, Richard Gleeson, and Nathan Sowter. The match commenced at 18:30 UK time, with officials Mike Burns, Nigel Llong, Michael Gough, Will Smith, and Suri Shanmugam overseeing the game.
Source: bbc.com
