Rockets beat Phoenix by six wickets
They chase 123 with 22 balls to spare
Root, who opened batting, out for six
Phoenix made 122-6 - Livingstone 39, Clarke 29; Ferguson 3-20
Hosts had slipped to 26-4 with Duckett out for two-ball duck and Bethell superbly run out by Cook
Keeping Liam Livingstone off strike seems to be the way to go for Trent Rockets.
He's on 35 from 22 balls with three sixes.
Meanwhile, Joe Clarke is on 27 from 29. That said, he's just timed a ball about as well as it's possible to, crunching it through the covers - but straight to the fielder on the rope. Just a single.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
A great shot! That got what it deserved from Liam Livingstone.
That was a slot ball, but I think people should try to land that fast full yorker at his feet seeing as he basically stands outside of the off stump.
Liam Livingstone goes again!
That's an enormous hit. Too full from Marcus Stoinis, in the slot and Livingstone gives it the kitchen sink.
That goes a long way back over long-on. Some way to bring up the fifty partnership.
Good recovery from Birmingham Phoenix.
There seems to be more positive intent from Joe Clarke and Liam Livingstone now that they're both set.
However, turning that into regular boundaries is proving tricky.
Akeal Hosein bowls perfectly to his field to end his 20-ball quota, keeping the ball wide of off to force the batters to hit out to the fielders on the cover boundary.
Time for a strategic timeout.
Thea Brookes
Former Birmingham Phoenix all-rounder on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Image source, PA MediaLiam Livingstone is giving the people what they want - we want to see big sixes!
That one was 72 metres and all Trent Rockets can do is watch it soar over their heads.
He has such a big follow through, he must be good at golf. He is probably the Happy Gilmore of the golfing world.
Shackles broken?
Liam Livingstone skips down the pitch to Akeal Hosein and powers the ball high over long-off for his second maximum of the innings.
Still the shackles are not being broken by this Phoenix pair as Lockie Ferguson gets through a tidy five balls.
Rufus Bullough
CricViz analyst
Birmingham Phoenix as a side have struggled against spin in The Hundred, averaging just 18.71 against the slower bowlers.
Only London Spirit average less against spin (16.71) across the past four editions.
Clarke 20, Livingstone 17
Five singles from Akeal Hosein's latest five balls to take us to the halfway stage of the innings.
Joe Clarke and Liam Livingstone have stopped the rot for Phoenix, the partnership is up to 28 from 20 balls but they will need to up the ante in the second 50 balls.
Image source, Getty ImagesBig hit from Liam Livingstone!
He skips down the pitch and demolishes the ball back over Rehan Ahmed's head for a big, big six.
Ahmed got into the England side nearly three years back now - time flies - for his bowling but it's his batting that has caught the eye more this year.
It was a tidy set before that last ball, though.
Akeal Hosein is back on to bowl his second five-ball set.
Very tidy stuff from the spinner, only four singles conceded as Liam Livingstone and Joe Clarke try to rebuild.
Ooh, interesting, Rehan Ahmed will bowl the next five...
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Image source, Getty ImagesJoe Clarke and Liam Livingstone are kind of in a funny position.
They have to try to get some momentum going but at the same time they can't really afford to lose more wickets.
Joe Clarke is obviously going to try to keep the run-rate going still. He realises he can't just bat himself into a hole and you have to try to score.
Rufus Bullough
CricViz analyst
Image source, Getty ImagesLiam Livingstone is averaging just 21.44 with the bat in 2025. This is his lowest average in any year of his career aside from his debut year in 2015.
Liam Livingstone, the Phoenix captain, is the new batter. He's made quite the impact in this competition over the years and the home fans will be hoping for something special from him tonight.
The England man thumps Marcus Stoinis through the covers for four. That's a good start.
Joe Clarke adds four more down the ground and Phoenix will hope it is the start of a fightback.
Rufus Bullough
CricViz analyst
This is the fourth time that Birmingham Phoenix have lost four wickets in the first 30 balls of the innings.
No team has been four down at this stage more often than Phoenix.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Image source, Getty ImagesWe were just talking about shockers - and that was right up there.
Jacob Bethell got sold down the river, quite simply. A great bit of fielding and athleticism from Sam Cook to turn so quickly and throw down the stumps.
A massive disappointment.
Bethell run out (Cook) 5 (Phoenix 26-4)
It goes from bad to worse for Birmingham Phoenix.
Any collapse worthy of the name needs a comedic run out and here it is.
Joe Clarke nudges the ball into the leg side, takes a couple of steps down the pitch and then stops in his tracks as bowler Sam Cook gets across to gather the ball.
Jacob Bethell is already halfway down the track by this point, though, and has to slam the breaks on, knowing full well it will make no difference if Cook hits.
He does and the England and Phoenix left-hander has to go.
Michael Carberry
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Birmingham Phoenix have played some very odd shots in these opening stages.
Duckett tried a reverse scoop on the second ball and then there was that big slog sweep from Smeed, so it seems to be a running theme.
Clarke 9, Bethell 4
The ball is still swinging for David Willey but it is the last five balls of the powerplay so Joe Clarke decides to break the shackles.
Overpitched by Willey and Clarke punches it over mid-on for four.
Thea Brookes
Former Birmingham Phoenix all-rounder on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
This is going to be a bit of an ask for Birmingham Phoenix, but we know what Jacob Bethell and Joe Clarke can do.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smeed,caught Cook, bowled Hosein Smeed, caught Cook, bowled Hosein | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 33.33 |
Duckett,bowled Willey Duckett, bowled Willey | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Donald,leg before wicket, bowled Ferguson Donald, leg before wicket, bowled Ferguson | 6 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 100.00 |
Clarke,caught and bowled Ferguson Clarke, caught and bowled Ferguson | 29 | 34 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 85.29 |
Bethell,run out Cook Bethell, run out Cook | 5 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 71.43 |
Livingstone,caught Holden, bowled Ferguson Livingstone, caught Holden, bowled Ferguson | 39 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 33 | 130.00 |
Mousley,not out Mousley, not out | 19 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 190.00 |
Howell,not out Howell, not out | 13 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 162.50 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 9, byes 0, leg byes 1, total 10 Extras, no balls 0, wides 9, byes 0, leg byes 1, total 10 | |||||||
Total,122 for 6 100 balls Total,122 for 6 100 balls |
| Bowler | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Willey | 15 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.60 |
Hosein | 20 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7.50 |
Cook | 20 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5.40 |
Ferguson | 20 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6.00 |
Stoinis | 20 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 10.50 |
Ahmed | 5 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10.80 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
1 for 1 (4 balls) | Duckett |
3 for 2 (6 balls) | Smeed |
12 for 3 (17 balls) | Donald |
26 for 4 (30 balls) | Bethell |
89 for 5 (81 balls) | Livingstone |
90 for 6 (84 balls) | Clarke |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Banton,caught Mousley, bowled Howell Banton, caught Mousley, bowled Howell | 43 | 29 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 41 | 148.28 |
Root,bowled Southee Root, bowled Southee | 6 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 60.00 |
Ahmed,caught Mousley, bowled Howell Ahmed, caught Mousley, bowled Howell | 25 | 16 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 21 | 156.25 |
Holden,not out Holden, not out | 22 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 169.23 |
Stoinis,caught Mousley, bowled Southee Stoinis, caught Mousley, bowled Southee | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 140.00 |
Hose,not out Hose, not out | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 180.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 6, byes 0, leg byes 5, total 11 Extras, no balls 0, wides 6, byes 0, leg byes 5, total 11 | |||||||
Total,123 for 4 78 balls Total,123 for 4 78 balls |
| Bowler | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Boult | 15 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8.40 |
Milne | 18 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9.66 |
Southee | 20 | 0 | 36 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10.80 |
Howell | 20 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7.50 |
Mousley | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.40 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
26 for 1 (19 balls) | Root |
77 for 2 (49 balls) | Ahmed |
87 for 3 (58 balls) | Banton |
113 for 4 (72 balls) | Stoinis |
