Phoenix beat Spirit by seven wickets
Livingstone blasts 45 not out off 20 balls and Bethell 18* off eight to get Phoenix over line with 35 balls to spare
Clarke also makes 54 off 25 balls
Spirit post 126-6 - Williamson 33 (29); Boult 2-20, Livingstone 2-26
Phoenix won toss and bowl
Phoenix are bottom with one win; Spirit sit fifth with two victories
Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live Sport commentary at top of page
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
It's been a bit of a grind for most of the batters out there. You feel it's the kind of wicket where it needs someone to come on and throw caution to the wind and get a few boundaries. Just to change the flow of momentum.
Adam Milne returns and bowls a brilliant set.
He gets away with one pitched wide in his final ball and only gives away two runs off the set.
With only 20 balls left, Spirit will need to accelerate from here if they are to get a competitive total on board.
Ashton Turner hits this one with authority.
He pulls Chris Wood through mid-wicket and just about manages to clear the rope for another maximum.
That also brings up Spirit's 100.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
It's been a bit of a struggle for London Spirit. The pitch hasn't made it easy to time the ball. No one's really seemed to get to grips with it.
Liam Livingstone decides to continue with another set and finish off his allocation.
But Sean Dickson heaves him for six over long-on - the first of the innings - before sweeping for another boundary.
The Phoenix captain finishes with figures of 2-26.
Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
A really frustrating wicket for London Spirit and follows the trend of the innings. Like Kane WIlliamson, Ollie Pope got himself a nice start but wasn't able to kick on. He tried to manufacture something different to get the boundaries. A simple catch in the end. A shake of the head from Ollie Pope as he walks off.
Birmingham Phoenix keep chipping away at the wickets. It feels like London Spirit have constantly been in the rebuilding phase. They haven't really been able to hit the accelerator and put Phoenix under any pressure.
Pope c Wood b Livingstone 23 (Spirit 81-4)
Image source, Getty ImagesOllie Pope goes for the sweep but fails in his execution.
It's top-edged to Chris Wood behind square who gathers and sends back the England batter.
Phoenix captain Liam Livingstone picks up his second wicket of the game.
Soham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
Smart bowling from the Phoenix bowlers to cut down on the pace against Kane Williamson. Against deliveries above 78mph, he scored 23 runs off 14 balls at a S/R of 164. Against deliveries below 78mph, 8 runs off 13 balls at a S/R of 86, including the dismissal.
Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Ashton Turner has been using the pace of the ball nicely. He's got a big role to play here, he's the London Spirit's middle order power-hitter.
Ollie Pope and new batter Ashton Turner hits Benny Howell, still struggling a little with that knock, for boundaries.
Nine runs from that over with 40 balls left.
Image source, Getty Images
Spirit 70-3
Ollie Pope returns a catching opportunity to Benny Howell.
But the bowler fumbles it and looks to have hurt himself in the process.
He will need some medical attention before he can continue here.
Ffion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
The strategic timeout worked for Birmingham Phoenix. An uncharacteristic shot from Kane Williamson, who was timing the ball quite nicely, playing his classic textbook cricket shots. But they weren't finding the boundary, so he was forced into trying to do something different. He was shuffling across his stumps and a much needed wicket for Birmingham Phoenix.
It wasn't really getting away from them but we know what a solid platform can do for an explosive middle order.
A wicket and four runs coming from Chris Wood's second set.
This game is finely in the balance.
Williamson b Wood 33 (Spirit 67-3)
Image source, Getty ImagesThe breakthrough Phoenix needed!
Kane Williamson steps across the crease to play it fine, but Chris Wood's delivery knocks back his leg stump.
The New Zealand batter departs for 33.
Soham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
Run-rate has been an issue for London Spirit this season, especially at the start of the innings which is why Jamie Smith's role is so crucial in giving them quick starts.
Spirit have averaged just 65 runs off the first 50 balls of their innings this season. That is the second-lowest for any team after Southern Brave (64).
Some relief for Spirit as they finally get a boundary off Benny Howell's second ball - Ollie Pope driving through the covers for a welcome release.
Can these two build from here?
A strategic time-out has been called as we reach the halfway stage of this innings.
Four sets without a boundary now for Spirit as Liam Livingstone hardly gives anything away.
Image source, Getty ImagesFfion Wynne
BBC Sport cricket writer on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
London Spirit have struggled to get their batting line-up right, haven't they?
It looked like something had clicked the other day when Jamie Smith got his half-century, so that's why they moved him up the order and moved Kane Williamson down to three.
But they have just started to slow down a little bit now. They can't afford to get too bogged down though.
Ollie Pope reaches for a low full-toss from Liam Livingstone.
And there are collective gasps from the Phoenix fielders as it just about clears a diving Tim Southee at cover and the Spirit batters run two.
Chris Wood comes on and the squeeze is on.
Only four from his first set.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Warner,caught Duckett, bowled Livingstone Warner, caught Duckett, bowled Livingstone | 9 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 75.00 |
Smith,bowled Boult Smith, bowled Boult | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Williamson,bowled Wood Williamson, bowled Wood | 33 | 29 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 33 | 113.79 |
Pope,caught Wood, bowled Livingstone Pope, caught Wood, bowled Livingstone | 23 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 21 | 135.29 |
A Turner,bowled Boult A Turner, bowled Boult | 20 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 31 | 133.33 |
Dickson,caught Duckett, bowled Howell Dickson, caught Duckett, bowled Howell | 16 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 106.67 |
Dawson,not out Dawson, not out | 12 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 150.00 |
Wood,not out Wood, not out | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 66.67 |
Extras, no balls 2, wides 5, byes 4, leg byes 0, total 11 Extras, no balls 2, wides 5, byes 4, leg byes 0, total 11 | |||||||
Total,126 for 6 100 balls Total,126 for 6 100 balls |
| Bowler | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boult | 20 | 0 | 20 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6.00 |
Milne | 20 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.80 |
Southee | 5 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 20.40 |
Livingstone | 20 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.80 |
Howell | 20 | 0 | 27 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8.10 |
Wood | 15 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6.40 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
3 for 1 (3 balls) | Smith |
39 for 2 (30 balls) | Warner |
67 for 3 (52 balls) | Williamson |
81 for 4 (63 balls) | Pope |
108 for 5 (84 balls) | Dickson |
122 for 6 (96 balls) | A Turner |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smeed,bowled Wood Smeed, bowled Wood | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Duckett,caught Williamson, bowled Dawson Duckett, caught Williamson, bowled Dawson | 11 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 110.00 |
Clarke,caught Pope, bowled Worrall Clarke, caught Pope, bowled Worrall | 54 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 28 | 216.00 |
Livingstone,not out Livingstone, not out | 45 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 26 | 225.00 |
Bethell,not out Bethell, not out | 18 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 225.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 3, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 3 Extras, no balls 0, wides 3, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 3 | |||||||
Total,131 for 3 65 balls Total,131 for 3 65 balls |
| Bowler | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wood | 10 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 10.20 |
Worrall | 12 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 10.00 |
Gleeson | 15 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 17.60 |
Stone | 10 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 17.40 |
Dawson | 8 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7.50 |
A Turner | 10 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.60 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
0 for 1 (2 balls) | Smeed |
46 for 2 (30 balls) | Duckett |
68 for 3 (40 balls) | Clarke |
