Vince helps Brave beat Phoenix despite Duckett’s efforts
James Vince’s classy unbeaten 90 is pivotal in Southern Brave’s 32-run win over Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred’s men’s competition.
The Hundred men’s competition, Edgbaston
Southern Brave 169-2 (100 balls): Vince 90* (47); Howell 1-32
Birmingham Phoenix 137-9 (100 balls): Duckett 92 (53); Jordan 3-19
Brave won by 32 runs
Southern Brave captain James Vince’s classy unbeaten 90 was key in his side’s 32-run win over Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred’s men’s competition.
Vince’s innings was full of stylish strokeplay as he hit six sixes and six fours in Brave’s commanding total of 169-2 at Edgbaston.
He shared an opening stand of 81 with Alex Davies (30) and an unbroken 68-run partnership with Kieron Pollard, who finished 38 not out.
Phoenix’s bowlers had struggled to make inroads into their opponents’ top order – with just one wicket each for Benny Howell and Sean Abbott – but Brave’s exciting attack had no such issues.
Chris Jordan impressed with 3-19, Akeal Hosein claimed 3-23 and Tymal Mills snared 2-21 with Ben Duckett the only Phoenix batter to carry any real threat.
With the victory target well out of sight Duckett eyed the chance of making the competition’s fourth century from the final five balls of the match, only to be caught at fine leg off Jordan for 92.
What else do you need to know?
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Brave go top of the table after their best start to a Hundred campaign with three wins from their opening four matches, although Trent Rockets will leapfrog them if they beat Welsh Fire on Saturday evening.
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Duckett’s knock was his top score in the competition, eclipsing the 65 from 67 balls he scored for Welsh Fire versus Oval Invincibles in August 2021.
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England fast bowler Jofra Archer took 1-36 – dismissing Phoenix skipper Moeen Ali – as he returned to the Brave side after a mandatory rest in the previous game.
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Vince’s score was his best in the Hundred, bettering the 71 off 41 balls he made against Welsh Fire in August 2022.
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The Brave skipper is the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 185 in four innings at an average of 61.66 and a strike rate of 158.11.
‘Everyone is performing’ – what they said
Hero of the match James Vince: “The reasons behind our best start? Players are playing better. We have a fantastic group of players and everyone is performing at the right time. We’re in a good place, but it’s important to back it up.
“Chris Jordan was fantastic but we probably got it slightly wrong up front and fed Ben Duckett a little bit, but the reaction was fantastic. Once we got into a rhythm and squeezed them everyone did a fantastic job.”
Brave fast bowler Chris Jordan: “I was bowling with the mindset of trying to bowl death overs earlier in the game. When I came on it was a matter of bowling a quiet set of five, then from there we got rolling.
“There was a short boundary and Ben Duckett was targeting it well. We had fine leg back for a lot of the game and thought if we bring him up, then if he wants to scoop us with pace off the ball it gives us a chance to get him out.
“Once we did that the momentum started to shift in our favour.”
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What is happening on Sunday?
There are four matches in The Hundred on Sunday.
London Spirit host Oval Invincibles (women’s at 11:00 BST, men’s at 14:30) at Lord’s while Northern Superchargers (women at 14:30 and men at 18:00) welcome Manchester Originals to Headingley.
You can follow commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.
You will also be able to watch Spirit v Invincibles in the men’s competition live on BBC Two, BBC iPlayer and via the BBC Sport website with coverage starting at 14:15.
