116/9 (20.0)
CR : 5.80
128/8 (20.0)
CR : 6.40
Southern Brave won by 12 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Marcus Stoinis
2/1634(26)
19.4
0
Luke Wood to Sean Dickson
84 mph. Goes for a yorker, but ends up bowling a low full toss outside off. Dickson tries to smash it but his bat face gets tilted in his hands. The ball rolls down to backward point.
Huge cheers from the home crowd following that dot ball. Birmingham Phoenix need 14 off 1 ball.
19.5
1
Luke Wood to Sean Dickson
Back of a length and around middle. 86 mph. Dickson swats it a bit uppishly but to the right of the bowler for a single. THIS HAS BEEN AN OUTSTANDING WIN FOR SOUTHERN BRAVE!! AN EMPATHETIC BOWLING PERFORMANCE!! THEY HAVE DEFEATED BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX BY 12 RUNS!!
Over 20
Birmingham Phoenix 116/9
Usman Tariq0(0)
Sean Dickson20(13)
Luke Wood3-24(20 b)
SB won by 12 runs
01:44 AM IST, 09:14 PM Local Time: What a cracking bowling performance from Southern Brave as they defend 128 by 12 runs to get the first points of the season. Birmingham Phoenix were never really in the chase as the Brave's bowlers were on the mark from the word go!
The Phoenix got off to a poor start in the chase as they managed only 25 runs while also losing Joe Clarke on the last ball of the Powerplay to Marcus Stoinis who had stitched a number of dot balls in the lead-up to the dismissal. Will Smeed and Rehan Ahmed tried to be aggressive but they just didn't manage to get going. Luke Wood broke the mini 24-run partnership between the two with Will Smeed finding David Miller at long-on after making 35 (28).
Rehan struck a six off Chris Jordan albeit with some fortune to give some hope but the Brave skipper got his man immediately with a slower delivery. Jordan brought Jofra Archer back into the attack and the star seamer castled the dangerous Donovan Ferreira for just 1 (3). Laurie Evans tried to keep the Phoenix in the game with a flurry of boundaries but it was that man Stoinis yet again who had the final answer. Evans nicked a wide delivery from Stoinis to Jamie Smith which meant Phoenix lost half their side and were reeling.
Mitchell Owen was the next to depart with the wily Adil Rashid forcing an inside-edge onto the stumps while Jordan and Archer bowled brilliant sets to bring the equation down to 29 off 10 balls. The game went down to the wire as Sean Dickson refused to give up and struck a couple of maximums off Jordan to bring the equation to 14 off 5 balls. However, Luke Wood dismissed Ben Dwarshuis and Scott Currie to keep Dickson off strike. Rashid wasn't done yet too as he ran-out Saqib Mahmood on the third delivery. In the end, Dickson could only manage a single off the last two balls as the Phoenix fell short by 12 runs.
Earlier in the match, Dwarshuis got the Phoenix off to a good start with the ball as he bounced out Jamie Smith. The Brave still had a fine Powerplay as they got to 38/1 with Ben McKinney being positive in the company of Tom Abell. McKinney couldn't convert his start though as he got out in a soft fashion off Mitchell Owen's bowling after making 18. The runs started to dry up after that and Rehan Ahmed got into the game with the stumping of Tom Abell.
The two experienced campaigners, Stoinis and David Miller managed to arrest a possible collapse by coming together for a 32-run partnership. Rehan was the man who broke that stand although he had to thank Donovan Ferreira for the wicket as the Phoenix skipper took a stunning catch at short cover. Rehan ended up with a three-wicket haul with Tristan Stubbs holing out to long-off. The wickets began to tumble after that with Dwarshuis getting rid of Miller while Scott Currie had Chris Jordan caught at deep backward square-leg. Ferreira made more impact in the field too with a cracking direct-hit to find Archer short of the crease. Eventually, the Brave managed to crawl over 125 with Luke Wood striking an invaluable maximum on the penultimate ball of the innings!
The Phoenix got off to a poor start in the chase as they managed only 25 runs while also losing Joe Clarke on the last ball of the Powerplay to Marcus Stoinis who had stitched a number of dot balls in the lead-up to the dismissal. Will Smeed and Rehan Ahmed tried to be aggressive but they just didn't manage to get going. Luke Wood broke the mini 24-run partnership between the two with Will Smeed finding David Miller at long-on after making 35 (28).
Rehan struck a six off Chris Jordan albeit with some fortune to give some hope but the Brave skipper got his man immediately with a slower delivery. Jordan brought Jofra Archer back into the attack and the star seamer castled the dangerous Donovan Ferreira for just 1 (3). Laurie Evans tried to keep the Phoenix in the game with a flurry of boundaries but it was that man Stoinis yet again who had the final answer. Evans nicked a wide delivery from Stoinis to Jamie Smith which meant Phoenix lost half their side and were reeling.
Mitchell Owen was the next to depart with the wily Adil Rashid forcing an inside-edge onto the stumps while Jordan and Archer bowled brilliant sets to bring the equation down to 29 off 10 balls. The game went down to the wire as Sean Dickson refused to give up and struck a couple of maximums off Jordan to bring the equation to 14 off 5 balls. However, Luke Wood dismissed Ben Dwarshuis and Scott Currie to keep Dickson off strike. Rashid wasn't done yet too as he ran-out Saqib Mahmood on the third delivery. In the end, Dickson could only manage a single off the last two balls as the Phoenix fell short by 12 runs.
Earlier in the match, Dwarshuis got the Phoenix off to a good start with the ball as he bounced out Jamie Smith. The Brave still had a fine Powerplay as they got to 38/1 with Ben McKinney being positive in the company of Tom Abell. McKinney couldn't convert his start though as he got out in a soft fashion off Mitchell Owen's bowling after making 18. The runs started to dry up after that and Rehan Ahmed got into the game with the stumping of Tom Abell.
The two experienced campaigners, Stoinis and David Miller managed to arrest a possible collapse by coming together for a 32-run partnership. Rehan was the man who broke that stand although he had to thank Donovan Ferreira for the wicket as the Phoenix skipper took a stunning catch at short cover. Rehan ended up with a three-wicket haul with Tristan Stubbs holing out to long-off. The wickets began to tumble after that with Dwarshuis getting rid of Miller while Scott Currie had Chris Jordan caught at deep backward square-leg. Ferreira made more impact in the field too with a cracking direct-hit to find Archer short of the crease. Eventually, the Brave managed to crawl over 125 with Luke Wood striking an invaluable maximum on the penultimate ball of the innings!
Hero of the Match: Marcus Stoinis
Marcus Stoinis (Hero of the Match): (On securing the win) "We're pumped. We obviously needed that. It was an important points game, and we're pleased to get over the line.
(On batting on a challenging surface) It was tough. Batting first on a fresh wicket, it's hard to know what a good score is. Even if you feel it's not the easiest wicket, it's still difficult to convince yourself to play a certain way. That's probably the biggest challenge. Looking back, another 10 runs would probably have made things a little easier, so the margins were pretty small.
(On using his batting experience while bowling) That's one of the advantages of being an all-rounder. Once you've batted on the wicket, you have a good idea of what was difficult to hit, so you try to replicate that with the ball.
(On his economical opening spell) Some people asked me if those deliveries were slower balls, but they actually weren't. On a wicket like that, it's more about being consistent and making subtle changes, like the way you hold the ball. I'm just glad it's working for me.
(On his leadership role alongside Chris Jordan) It's about helping out because the game moves so quickly. Whether it's moving the field around or making sure we don't get caught out in the final overs, that's part of the role. We've got a few Australians in the team as well, so I had a fair idea of what we wanted to do in different situations."
(On batting on a challenging surface) It was tough. Batting first on a fresh wicket, it's hard to know what a good score is. Even if you feel it's not the easiest wicket, it's still difficult to convince yourself to play a certain way. That's probably the biggest challenge. Looking back, another 10 runs would probably have made things a little easier, so the margins were pretty small.
(On using his batting experience while bowling) That's one of the advantages of being an all-rounder. Once you've batted on the wicket, you have a good idea of what was difficult to hit, so you try to replicate that with the ball.
(On his economical opening spell) Some people asked me if those deliveries were slower balls, but they actually weren't. On a wicket like that, it's more about being consistent and making subtle changes, like the way you hold the ball. I'm just glad it's working for me.
(On his leadership role alongside Chris Jordan) It's about helping out because the game moves so quickly. Whether it's moving the field around or making sure we don't get caught out in the final overs, that's part of the role. We've got a few Australians in the team as well, so I had a fair idea of what we wanted to do in different situations."
Chris Jordan (Southern Brave Captain): "[On the result] Extremely proud. It's well documented that we have some close games, glad to get over the line. Pleased for the fans, was nice to get over the line.
[Constant rotation of bowlers] Throughout the innings, I tried to not give them two looks at a bowler, just tried to keep mixing it up.
[About Adil Rashid's spell and a run-out as well] Even though he got hit for a six, the follow-up deliveries were brilliant. Brilliant. Obviously, he can be unassuming but when he is in the dressing room, he is a leader and a winner. His bowling is brilliant but that run-out, in particular, shows his attitude to the game.
[What decides the bowling changes and combinations?] It is a gut feel, you can't look too far ahead. You pick up a couple of bowlers you think can work well in tandem. Sometimes me and Rash work well in tandem. Right in that moment, Rash got hit for a six but showed his experience to get out of the set.
[On the experienced players in the dressing room] I am really fortunate to have good voices in the dressing room and guys who genuinely want to win. Stoinis is another great player to have as he gives us the option of playing an extra bowler. You saw the way he bowled, especially the last set in the Powerplay which gave us the momentum. He showed all his experience.
[Whether the team believed they could at the half-way mark?] Big time, I said to the boys at the half-way mark that the score didn't matter. To stay in the tournament, we had to find a way and fielding was a big part of that. I bowled a couple of wides which probably cost us time. Hopefully, we can gather some momentum going forward."
[Constant rotation of bowlers] Throughout the innings, I tried to not give them two looks at a bowler, just tried to keep mixing it up.
[About Adil Rashid's spell and a run-out as well] Even though he got hit for a six, the follow-up deliveries were brilliant. Brilliant. Obviously, he can be unassuming but when he is in the dressing room, he is a leader and a winner. His bowling is brilliant but that run-out, in particular, shows his attitude to the game.
[What decides the bowling changes and combinations?] It is a gut feel, you can't look too far ahead. You pick up a couple of bowlers you think can work well in tandem. Sometimes me and Rash work well in tandem. Right in that moment, Rash got hit for a six but showed his experience to get out of the set.
[On the experienced players in the dressing room] I am really fortunate to have good voices in the dressing room and guys who genuinely want to win. Stoinis is another great player to have as he gives us the option of playing an extra bowler. You saw the way he bowled, especially the last set in the Powerplay which gave us the momentum. He showed all his experience.
[Whether the team believed they could at the half-way mark?] Big time, I said to the boys at the half-way mark that the score didn't matter. To stay in the tournament, we had to find a way and fielding was a big part of that. I bowled a couple of wides which probably cost us time. Hopefully, we can gather some momentum going forward."
So, that is it from myself, Karthik Raj and my co-commentator, Dev Rajawat as we wrap up the coverage of this fixture. A note of thanks to our scorer, Paras Yadav as well. Do stay tuned and enjoy a number of cricket matches that will be covered by us on Friday!