Sam Hain, Glenn Maxwell stand ensures Bears overcome Foxes

Birmingham Bears maintained their 100% record in the Vitality Blast with a five-wicket victory over Leicestershire Foxes at the Upstonsteel County Ground.

The Foxes' bleak start to the campaign continued after they totalled a modest 166 for 7 on an excellent pitch on which The Blaze had piled up 212 in 20 overs earlier in the day. Every dismissed batter except one passed 15 but only Nick Welch reached 30 as Danny Briggs bowled with his customary nous for 4-0-15-3.

That looked chaseable for a Bears side including Glenn Maxwell for the first time and the debutant crunched a muscular 47 off 27 balls as his side reached 167 for 5 with 15 balls to spare. Sam Hain followed his unbeaten 83 in the Blast opener against Yorkshire with an unbeaten 65 off 43 as only Callum Parkinson (4 for 33) caused much interference to the Bears' pursuit.

After the Foxes chose to bat, Nick Welch and Sol Budinger provided a punchy start with an opening stand of 49 in five overs but then fell to successive balls. Welch's middle-stump was plucked out by Chris Woakes before Budinger heaved Dan Mousley to deep midwicket.

Briggs imposed a brake with a skilful spell and bowled Arron Lilley to secure his 240th T20 wicket. Number 241 soon followed when Colin Ackermann sought the crowd at long-on but found only Mousley just inside the rope, much to the disappointment of those in the stand who were jockeying for position in light of the dazzling prize, for any spectator who caught a six, of a ticket to see Tom Jones at the Uptonsteel County Ground on July 15.

It's not unusual to see Briggs among the wickets in T20 and when his third followed, Wiaan Milder top-edging to short fine leg, the Foxes had stuttered to 106 for 5. Rishi Patel and Rehen Ahmed landed a few blows in a stand of 38 in 21 balls but the Foxes appeared to have come in under par.

The Bears reply raced to 22 from 13 balls before the early charge was halted by the introduction of Parkinson. He bowled Alex Davies and Paul Stirling in his first five balls but Mulder's first over, which went for 18, returned the initiative to Birmingham and they never relinquished it.

Bowling to Maxwell and Hain when both are in good nick is about as tough as it gets in world T20 and they broke the back of the chase with a stand of 90 in 51 balls. Maxwell lapped Will Davis to short fine leg, but Mousley kept up the impetus with an 11-ball 16 before ladling Parkinson to long leg.

Three balls later, Parkinson had Chris Benjamin caught behind to complete his third T20 four-for, but Hain advanced to a 35-ball half-century and the Bears eased home, Hain striking the winning run to long leg with the Tom Jones ticket still unclaimed.