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
New Spirit batter Ollie Pope gets off the mark with a single towards deep backward square.
Benny Howell will be happy to have given away just three more during the remainder of that over, after his disastrous start.
Image source, Getty ImagesWe will see the first of Benny Howell today rom the Pavilion End.
And it's not a great start for the Phoenix bowler, as a full-toss misses both Kane Williamson and wicketkeeper Joe Clarke to run away for four byes.
Soham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
David Warner has now faced six balls from Liam Livingstone in T20s/Hundred and been dismissed twice for just two runs.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
It was a real struggle for David Warner today. He never really got to grips with the pitch or his timing in general. It felt like he was really fighting himself because he couldn't really find his balance.
Liam Livingstone will be delighted with that. That was a big, big breakthrough for Birmingham Phoenix.
Warner c Duckett b Livingstone 9 (Spirit 39-2)
Image source, Getty ImagesCaptain Liam Livingstone comes into bowl and strikes with the final ball of his set.
David Warner splices it to the mid-off where Ben Duckett completes an easy catch.
Adding insult to injury, Tim Southee then bowls a no-ball.
But he executes a yorker well to avoid any serious damage from the free-hit.
Still an expensive final over before the powerplay - 17 runs from it.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Kane Williamson is realising that David Warner is just struggling a tad with his timing at the minute, so he is going to try to go on the offensive to try to get something going from London Spirit's point of view.
He will be hoping to attack the lesser pace of Tim Southee here.
Image source, Getty ImagesSoham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
Both these batters have a smashing record against Tim Southee in T20s/Hundred: Warner has scored 126 runs off 64 balls for just one dismissal while Williamson has scored 41 runs off 20 balls for no dismissal.
Tim Southee comes into bowl the final set of the powerplay.
But he gives away three boundaries in his first three balls.
Kane Williamson is sending the ball in all directions of the field.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Birmingham Phoenix are just tightening the screw on David Warner here. They are just building a few dot balls and he is finding it hard to pierce the gap.
That boundary is a good bit of timing and should make him feel a little bit better. It will be nice to feel a few in the middle of the bat after not having much to feed off.
Trent Boult with some serious pace to give David Warner all sorts of trouble through his latest set.
But the Australian batter manages to slice the final delivery towards boundary where Will Smeed does well to stop two runs.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
I'm expecting a close game here. Looking at where both teams sit in the table, I think it's imperative now that they start to peak in terms of their performances. They both need to get some wins under their belts to try to sneak up that table.
Things are getting a little bit tight and itchy now.
Kane Williamson pierces the ring through cover for another boundary from Trent Boult's first ball in his latest set.
But the Black Caps left-armer comes back strongly and ends with four dot balls.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Chris Wood turning back the clock there, showing a great bit of athleticism!
That was a great stop and it has saved Birmingham Phoenix a couple of runs.
Adam Milne bowls from the opposite end and his set has a bit of everything.
The New Zealand pacer strikes his compatriot Kane Williamson on the pads and breaks into an appeal but the umpire is not interested.
Then he sends one down the legside, with Chris Wood doing well to cut it off before the rope.
A misfield then allows Williamson to run a single off the final ball.
Kane Williamson wouldn't have expected to be in the middle so early.
But he introduces himself with a lovely drive through the covers for the first boundary of this game.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
That was a little bit unnecessary from Jamie Smith.
I know he was trying to assert himself early on but I think he would be well-advised to look at someone of the class of Trent Boult. He has mishit that completely and he is back on his way.
Soham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
That is the 47th time Trent Boult has taken a wicket in the first over/set of a T20/Hundred game.
Only Shaheen Shah Afridi (59), David Willey (57) and Mohammad Amir (50) have more.
Smith b Boult 0 (Spirit 3-1)
Straight through Jamie Smith!
Trent Boult strikes in the first set as he produces a nip backer that knocks back the Spirit opener's middle stump.
What a start for Phoenix.
Image source, Getty ImagesSoham Sarkhel
CricViz analyst
Phoenix and Spirit have gone head-to-head four times in the Men’s Hundred and each time the Phoenix have soared high.
That is not to say the contest has been one-sided though.
In 2021, Phoenix won by a margin of three wickets and with three balls to spare. In 2022, they won by one wicket off the last ball and in 2024, the duel was decided with just one ball to spare.
Only the 2023 encounter was a runaway victory by a margin of 77 runs.
| 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 |
