The 23rd match of the Hundred will be played between Birmingham Phoenix and Welsh Fire on August 9 at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Both the teams have not had great starts to the tournament. While Phoenix have won only one out of their five matches, Fire have managed to pocket two victories. Who will get back to winning ways? Phoenix or Fire? Tune in to find out….
Squads
Birmingham Phoenix: Shafali Verma, Evelyn Jones, Amy Ellen Jones (c & wk), Katie Mack, Erin Burns, Georgia Elwiss, Emily Arlott, Gwenan Davies, Isabelle Wong, Kirstie Gordon, Abtaha Maqsood, Thea Brookes, Marie Kelly, Ria Fackrell, Phoebe Franklin
Welsh Fire: Bryony Smith, Hayley Matthews, Georgia Redmayne, Sarah Taylor (wk), Sophie Luff (c), Georgia Hennessy, Piepa Cleary, Katie George, Alex Griffiths, Nicole Harvey, Hannah Baker, Alice Macleod, Amy Gordon, Natasha Wraith, Bethan Ellis, Lauren Filer
Players to watch out for
Amy Jones (Birmingham Phoenix): The captain of the Phoenix is the leading run-getter for her team, having scored 108 runs in five matches, including the best of 42 not out. She has a strike rate of 156.52. Behind the stumps, she has been good, accounting for four dismissals, all of which have been stumpings.
Kirstie Gordon (Birmingham Phoenix): The right arm pacer is the most successful bowler for the Phoenix, having scalped seven wickets in five games, including the best of 3-14. The slow left arm bowler has been the captain’s go to option when the team needs quick wickets.
Hayley Matthews (Welsh Fire): The West Indian all-rounder is the highest run-getter for the Fire, with 183 runs from five matches, including the best of 71 not out. She has a good strike rate of 127.97. With the ball, the off spinner has accounted for seven wickets.
Georgia Redmayne (Welsh Fire): She is the second leading run getter for the Fore with 100 runs from five matches, including the best of 38 not out. The top order bat is a talented cricketer and has shown a lot of promise playing against some of the best international stars.
Weather conditions
It is a 3pm (local) start at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The weather looks good throughout the course of the match. There is almost no chance of rain as the weather forecasts show a low chance of precipitation. The average temperature is around 19 degrees Celsius, with a gentle breeze blowing from the southwest.
Pitch
This will be the fourth match of the tournament at the venue. The average score so far has been 134, average 1st innings score has been 134 and the average 2nd innings score has been 133. It is a good cricketing wicket as it has something for both batters and bowlers. In the last three games that were played here, the team batting second have won twice. Though the speedsters have had an upper hand with respect to the number of wickets taken by them compared to the spinners, in the last game, spinners dominated with eight wickets to three wickets by pacers.
Fantasy playing XI
Amy Jones, Georgia Redmayne, Evelyn Jones, Georgia Hennessy, Shafali Verma, Hayley Matthews, Bryony Smith, Erin Burns, Kirstie Gordon, Piepa Cleary, Isabelle Wong
Date: August 9, 2021
Time: 7.30pm IST
Venue: Edgbaston, Birmingham
Live streaming: Fan Code
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.