The Birmingham Phoenix will play their first match against the Northern Superchargers on 4th August at Leeds. In the previous editions they have found themselves in the middle of the points table, they finished 3rd in the 2021 points table and 4th in the 2022 edition. With the Oval Invincibles winning both the title and the Southern Brave reaching both the finals, it will be interesting to see if the Phoenix manages to overcome the hurdle this time.
Ahead of the draft, each team was instructed to retain a maximum of 4 players which includes a maximum of 3 marquee players with a mixture of English contracted players and overseas stars. The Birmingham Phoenix decided to retain the regular English keeper Amy Jones, one of the best all-rounders in the world Ellyse Perry, the young pace bowling sensation Issy Wong and the domestic stalwart Emily Arlott. Issy Wong took the first hat trick of the WPL and also took 15 wickets from 10 matches for the ultimate champions Mumbai Indians. Emily Arlott, the right-arm pacer took 13 wickets from just 8 innings.
In the draft, they used their right-to-match card on their previous edition captain Sophie Devine who is coming on the back of an amazing run at the inaugural Women’s Premier League which includes a blazing performance of 99 off just 36 balls against the Gujarat Giants. They picked the U19 World Cup star, the leg-break bowler Hannah Baker. And they strengthen their spin bowling with the addition of Katie Levick. And last but not least they drafted Eve Jones who is the 3rd highest run-getter in the RHF trophy with 307 runs from 8 innings.
Their spin bowling all-rounder from Australia, Erin Burns played the recent CE Cup and she scored 185 runs from 7 innings at a strike rate of 141. And she added to her tally of wickets with her off-spin bowling, 9 wickets from as many innings. An unfortunate injury ruled Ellyse Perry out from the tournament, which can prove to be a major setback.
Squad:
Amy Jones, Issy Wong, Emily Arlott, Sophie Devine, Hannah Baker, Katie Levick, Eve Jones, Abtaha Maqsood, Erin Burns, Chloe Brewer, Sterre Kalis, Davina Perrin, Abbey Freeborn, Charis Pavely
Schedule:
| DATE | OPPOSITION | VENUE | TIME (BST) |
| 03-Aug-2023 | Northern Superchargers | Clean State Headingley | 15:00 |
| 05-Aug-2023 | Trent Rockets | Edgbaston | 14:30 |
| 07-Aug-2023 | Manchester Originals | Old Trafford | 15:00 |
| 10-Aug-2023 | Welsh Fire | Edgbaston | 15:00 |
| 13-Aug-2023 | Oval Invincibles | Edgbaston | 14:30 |
| 16-Aug-2023 | Southern Brave | Ageas Bowl | 15:00 |
| 19-Aug-2023 | Trent Rockets | Trent Bridge | 11:00 |
| 24-Aug-2023 | London Spirit | Edgbaston | 15:00 |
Players to watch for:
“I’m going to go for Hannah Baker, she’s a young leg-spinner and I reckon she’s going to come into her own this year and hopefully add some spark to the Phoenix,” said the English pace bowling sensation Issy Wong.
Hannah Baker
In England’s run upto the final, Baker played a major role. She was 3rd highest wicket-taker with 10 wickets at an average of just 7.3, she was only behind Australia’s Maggie Clark and India’s Parshavi Chopra. The 19-year-old leg-break bowler will try to have a similar run at the upcoming edition of The Hundred.
Katie Levick
She is another leggie who picked wickets for fun, she picked 30 wickets from 16 innings across the CE Cup and the RHF trophy with a best figure of 5 for 19 coming against the Northern Diamonds at the Leeds. She along with Hannah Baker can prove to be a dream spin duo.
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