In the men’s division of The Hundred at the Ageas Bowl, Southern Brave stumbled to a four-wicket victory against the faltering Birmingham Phoenix.
Phoenix, who have lost all six of their games so far, scored 119-8 on a difficult pitch with three wickets apiece from Rehan Ahmed and Tymal Mills.
Before failing late in the chase and losing two wickets with just one run required, Brave had a commanding lead. Dan Mousley of Phoenix, though, bowled a wide to give the Brave the win. A stunning bowling effort from the Brave saw England’s spinner Ahmed take 3-22 and his seamer counterpart Mills take 3-20.
Then, England all-rounder Moeen Ali grabbed 1-17 for Phoenix as George Garton led the way with a counterattacking 28 off 18 balls.
With the win, Southern Brave moves up to second place in the standings, while Phoenix stays last but is still mathematically in the running to make the playoffs.
Rehan Ahmed, a Southern Brave spinner, said to BBC Two that Jamie Smith’s first wicket was his favourite. “It was amazing to have one slipping under his bat because he is such a superb player. When you are aware of a spinning pitch, you may put yourself under additional pressure since you are expected to take wickets. However, I made an effort to unwind since I knew the wicket would come in handy.”
