MO vs BP | Liam Livingstone, Joe Clarke and Ben Duckett star for Phoenix in clinical win over Originals

‌Birmingham Phoenix pulled off a comfortable seven-wicket win in an inconsequential fixture against Manchester Originals in The Hundred Men’s 2025 in Manchester on Sunday. Skipper Liam Livingstone led from the front with a disciplined two-wicket spell before Ben Duckett and Joe Clark took over to complete a one-sided win in a low-scoring affair. The win, though, could not save Phoenix’s inconsistent campaign as they were out of contention for a spot in the playoffs even before the first ball was bowled. Trent Rockets became the third side to qualify for the knockouts with a win in the first game, and that left the Birmingham-based outfit in fourth spot with 12 points ahead of the last round of the group-stage matches. On the other hand, the home side’s indifferent campaign went further south as they were pushed to the bottom of the points table with the heavy defeat.

After opting to bat first, the Originals could manage just 109/7 in their quota of 100 balls, with Heinrich Klaasen top-scoring for them with a struggling 34 off 35 balls. Skipper Phil Salt and Rachin Ravindra were the only batters who managed to maintain a strike rate of more than 100 in an inept batting display from the home side. Salt hit three sixes and two fours during his 20-ball 31 while Ravindra perished after scoring 13 off seven balls. For the visiting unit, captain Liam Livingstone made most use of a slow surface with figures of 2/11, including the wickets of Ravindra and Jos Buttler, in his 20-ball spell. Livingstone bowled 12 dot balls in his four overs, while left-arm seamer Chris Wood also ended with identical figures of 2/11 in 15 balls.

The Phoenix’s response was headlined by a 72-run association for the second wicket between opener Ben Duckett and Joe Clarke. The pair joined hands after fellow opener Will Smeed departed in the fourth over with the score reading 19. Clark was the aggressive of the two during the partnership as he hit four fours and two sixes during his knock of 40 off 21 balls. Meanwhile, the England opener was a steady presence at the other end with an unbeaten knock of 49 off 38 balls. Though pacer Josh Tongue (2/34) accounted for Clarke and Livingstone in his last two overs, it was too late for the home side to make a comeback with the equation already trimmed to 13 off 28 balls. Duckett finished the game in style with an extra cover drive off medium pacer Scott Currie as Phoenix went past the target to reach 113/3 with 17 balls to spare.