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Spirit vs Phoenix, 2nd Match at Birmingham, Men's 100, Jul 23 2021 - Match Result

RESULT
2nd Match (N), Birmingham, July 23, 2021, The Hundred Men's Competition
(97/100 balls, T:145) 148/7

Phoenix won by 3 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)

Player Of The Match
64 (40)
zak-crawley
Match centre 
Scores: Chandan Duorah | Comms: @PeterDellaPenna
Scorecard summary
London Spirit (Men) 144/6(100 balls)
64 (40)
2/18 (20)
25 (14)
2/25 (20)
Birmingham Phoenix (Men) 148/7(97 balls)
40 (30)
2/38 (20)
2/34 (17)

9.14 pm Edgbaston is bouncing well after the final ball. Some atmosphere for the opening week of the Hundred! Moeen Ali and Chris Benjamin do most of the heavy lifting in the successful chase.

Zak Crawley is named the Hero of the Match in a losing effort: "I was pleased with how I played. It's always nice to score runs but I could've done with a few more at the back end to get us to a higher total and we might have won but I was pleased with the Powerplay. It's great to have a big crowd. Adam Milne probably should be wearing the cap, he had a great game. How can you not enjoy this cricket playing in front of a big crowd? I'm trying to enjoy every game."

Chris Benjamin: "First off, very excited. A bit amazed I got the call up. A bit of a whirlwind the last couple of weeks. This was going to be an incredible learning opportunity. To get the chance to play in the first game and to get the team over the line was just incredible. I just wanted to get myself in and then try to take on a bowler. Fortunately one or two shots came off and we got over the line. Youngsters, keep dreaming big and keep working hard, that's the big thing. You'll face some difficult times and disappointments but hard work wins at the end."

Come back tomorrow for more action from The Hundred! That's it from us tonight. For Miller and Gardner, I'm PDP. Take care!

97
4
Amir to Milne, FOUR runs

length ball on off stump, Milne heaves a pull that skids along the turf through square leg. Vertical flamethrowers start shooting off on the boundary to mark a victory for the Phoenix with three balls to spare!

96
W
Amir to Cooke, OUT

Bopara is wearing magnets in the field! Bouncer on the stumps, tries to heave over midwicket but skies this over mid-on. Bopara shuffles left on the ring and clutches this above his head. Spirit not giving up just yet.

Chris Cooke c Bopara b Mohammad Amir 5 (5b 1x4 0x6 9m) SR: 100

Amir back to bowl the last five with scores level.

after 95 balls10 runs
BP-M: 144/6Need 1 from 5 balls
Chris Benjamin24 (15b 1x4 2x6)
Chris Cooke5 (4b 1x4)
Chris Wood 1/23 (20)

Scores level heading into the last five. Whether London is mandated to bring an extra fielder into the ring now or not doesn't matter. Officially they have been assessed a penalty but all 11 fielders are in the ring anyway.

95
1
Wood to Benjamin, 1 run

yorker on leg stump now, flicks this out to deep square leg.

94
4
Wood to Benjamin, FOUR runs

wide yorker on sixth stump, Benjamin can do no wrong here! Not only does he dig this out, but does so with enough forearm power to beat mid-off on the ring as it skids away to the rope.

Devendra: "Benjamin is picking up some Benjamins ($100 bills)!!!! The 100 is HERE!"

93
1lb
Wood to Cooke, 1 leg bye

pinged in the helmet! Slower bouncer and is out in front of the pull shot, he's hit square on the bill of the helmet as the ball ricochets into the off side for an extra. Physio sprints out to check on the batsman for a cursory concussion evaluation.

92
4
Wood to Cooke, FOUR runs

fuller and wider, heaves aiming for extra cover but slices a thick edge over backward point and backspins away to the rope.

91
Wood to Cooke, no run

good length ball tries to heave over the leg side and misses.

London have two minutes to get through these five balls or else they'll have to field with an extra man in the ring for the last five balls, if it even lasts that long....

CHANGE OF END
after 90 balls13 runs • 1 wicket
BP-M: 134/6Need 11 from 10 balls
Chris Benjamin19 (13b 2x6)
Chris Cooke1 (1b)
Blake Cullen 2/38 (20)

Paul: "Sitting in a cold Cape Town watching Edgbaston pumping. Well done those fans, more than a hundred. We can't even be at the Lions vs Springboks rugby tomorrow."

90
6
Cullen to Benjamin, SIX runs

back to the orthodoxy, same result way over the square leg rope! Cullen tries to bounce him, Benjamin swats a pull flat over the leg side, lands in the second row of the stands.

89
Cullen to Benjamin, no run

Benjamin tries to repeat this scoop over third man but it's a slower cutter on the same length and the change of pace throws off his timing. Can't connect.

88
6
Cullen to Benjamin, SIX runs

what a shot! The crowd goes bonkers! Length ball on off stump, gets into position for a reverse and scoops this over third man all the way over the rope.

87
1
Cullen to Cooke, 1 run

full on the stumps, flicked along the turf for a single to long-on.

86
W
Cullen to Howell, OUT

full on off, heaves for the leg side but skies this over point and Bopara jogs in from the ring to take a swirling chance lunging forward onto his knees.

Benny Howell c Bopara b Cullen 17 (9b 0x4 2x6 12m) SR: 188.88

Cullen back for his last five.

after 85 balls10 runs
BP-M: 121/5Need 24 from 15 balls
Chris Benjamin7 (10b)
Benny Howell17 (8b 2x6)
Roelof van der Merwe 1/25 (15)
85
1
van der Merwe to Benjamin, 1 run

dropped! But at the very least VDM doesn't have to go to the dentist tomorrow morning! Full ball outside off, slammed like a howitzer back toward VDM at head height. He gets hands up adjacent to his face moving left and parries the ball toward long-off for one.

84
1
van der Merwe to Howell, 1 run

full on the legs, flicked into the leg side.

83
6
van der Merwe to Howell, SIX runs

meatball gets devoured and spit back over the rope at cow corner! Knee high full toss on middle, Howell spreads a ladle full of marinara over this ball before heaving it 20 yards over the rope.

82
1
van der Merwe to Benjamin, 1 run

flights this full on off, slogs this flat along the ground to long-on.

81
1
van der Merwe to Howell, 1 run

spears this full and wide on sixth stump, slices a drive to the point sweeper.

Van der Merwe back to bowl his last five.

CHANGE OF END
after 80 balls9 runs
BP-M: 111/5Need 34 from 20 balls
Chris Benjamin5 (8b)
Benny Howell9 (5b 1x6)
Chris Wood 1/14 (15)

Morgan calls for a strategic timeout. It's looking highly unlikely they'll finish their bowling innings in the allotted time and will have to field with an extra man inside the ring before long.

80
Wood to Benjamin, no run

yorker on middle, digs this out back to Wood at short midwicket in his follow-through.

79
2
Wood to Benjamin, 2 runs

bouncer on the stumps, pulls this flat to deep square leg. Nabi flicks to Lawrence coming across from deep midwicket as he's tumbling over and the relay is tight at the keeper's end but they just get in for the second.

Rob L: "@peter, where does that vdM catch rank on your patented DellaPenna Catch Ranking scale? " 10 years ago it would've been 10 out of 10. But in 2021 that might get an 8 at best.

78
1
Wood to Howell, 1 run

full on the stumps, flicked along the turf to deep midwicket for one.

Best performances - batters
Spike Graph
Wagon Zone
Z Crawley
64 runs (40)
6 fours3 sixes
Productive shot
flick
15 runs
2 fours0 six
Control
78%
MM Ali
BP-M
40 runs (30)
3 fours1 six
Productive shot
slog shot
10 runs
1 four1 six
Control
82%
Best performances - bowlers
AF Milne
B
20
0s
10
R
18
W
2
RPB
0.90
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
2W
BAC Howell
B
20
0s
7
R
25
W
2
RPB
1.25
FTYFGSGS
OFFLEG
RHB
1W
LEGOFF
LHB
1W
Match details
Edgbaston, Birmingham
TossBirmingham Phoenix (Men), elected to field first
Series
Season2021
Player Of The Match
Match days23 July 2021 - night (100-ball match)
Umpires
TV Umpire
Reserve Umpire
Match Referee
PointsBirmingham Phoenix (Men) 2, London Spirit (Men) 0
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Instant answers to T20 questions
Phoenix Innings
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The Hundred Men's Competition

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SB-M852110.034
TR-M853100.035
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MO-M8246-0.361
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