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The Timeline - Men's Final: Southern Brave v Birmingham Phoenix

SHIVAM PATHAK recaps the best of the action from Lord's as Southern Brave showed class in all areas to lift the trophy

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Shivam Pathak | 21/08/2021 at 21:15

Scorecard

Southern Brave became the first Men's Hundred champions at Lord's tonight after Paul Stirling and Ross Whiteley helped build a score that was more than enough to be defended by their near-flawless bowling attack.

Having lost the toss and being put in to bat first, the side on a six-game winning streak were able to post an above average score despite single digit returns from James Vince and Quinton de Kock.

In reply, the Birmingham Phoenix struggled to start, and fan favourite Liam Livingstone managed 46 off 19 before being run-out, after which they failed to find momentum, falling well short of their target.

Here's how it happened...

Ball 6: Turned and lobbed back over fine leg for six! Creativity already on the agenda from Quinton de Kock who shuffles across his stumps, but timing it right to knock Dillon Pennington away to the boundary. 8-0

Ball 8: Cracked away by Stirling! Too short from Pennington, and Stirling isn’t going to miss the opportunity to shuffle his feet and pull it with serious aggression over square leg for six. 15-0

Ball 12: Pulled right to the man on the ring! Quinton de Kock has to walk here. It’s a great delivery from Milne, full and straight that leaves the South African caught in two minds. He looks to quickly swing and hook it over square, but it takes a leading edge and there is Pennington at fine leg to make the grab. 15-1

Ball 25: No run - top class from Milne. Changes the length again, cutting in on the bounce and Stirling can’t push further than cover. Varying the pace and line, he’s conceded just one run off this set - three off 15 balls! Test-like numbers from a brilliant bowler. 25-1

Ball 26: Snap! Stirling fires again. Benny Howell’s first ball is launched - too full and on off stump, the Irish international leans back before cracking it aggressively, high and far over long-on for a maximum. 31-1

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Ball 32: Bowled ‘im! Guess who? It’s Imran Tahir! Full, the leg spinner tosses it by the pads and James Vince is just foxed as he looks to sweep through square. The leg pole is rattled - and off goes the South African with his teammates in tow. 35-2

 

Ball 44: Catapulted over cow corner for six by Stirling! Howell tosses it up again, but Stirling had made his mind up from before the ball had even come out of his hand - leaning onto his trailing leg before crunching it over the rope. 53-2

Balls 47 and 48: Pairs of fours for Stirling. Both of these are beautifully timed through the off-side, Pat Brown putting these right on a plate with the lengths too full, allowing him to pierce the field on both occasions. 63-2

Ball 54: Six more, and fifty for Paul Stirling! Imran Tahir grits at this one, as he tosses it up full and Stirling simply goes on the sweep, not catching the cleanest contact but enough to beat the man at the midwicket boundary. 74-2

 

Ball 59: Boom! That’s been bludgeoned! It’s the same culprit again who is smacking these with power. Same sort of area, too, as he takes on the fuller one and just cracks this one into the cow corner for another maximum. 84-2

Ball 61: Nicked behind! Got the wicket they wanted! It’s been a tremendous innings from Paul Stirling, but he’s got to walk. Howell comes back into the attack and strikes right away. Wide, offering the drive, Stirling indeed lashes out - it kisses the edge and there is Benjamin with the gloves, primed to grab. 85-3

Ball 69: Tim David monsters this one over the ropes! Too short from Liam Livingstone, allowing the new batsman to get low early before nailing this right over square leg for six more. 97-3 

Ball 70: Got ‘im now though! The tempter from Livingstone works, and he strikes back the very next ball. A wider length delivery, David looks to slog it out of the ground but there is a top edge, and Bedingham is able to track towards it and grab on the move. 103-4

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Ball 85: And another! Whiteley in the mood. On off stump from Benny Howell, Whiteley moves to the pitch of the ball and smacks it over long-on for six. 127-4

Ball 87: Lovely straight drive for four!  Full on the pads from Brown, Whiteley simply adjusts his feet before clattering it right back past him with the bat at 90 degrees, à la Rahul Dravid. 137-4

Ball 89: Scoops him away for another maximum! Brown is taking some major punishment here. Alex Davies switches it up this time, sauntering over his crease before getting height and length a-plenty over the rope by the Compton Stand. 144-4

Ball 91: And taken! Milne comes back and there’s the wicket. The plan works. Back of a length, on off stump, and Davies walks right into the trap by prodding it straight to newly placed third man. 145-5

Ball 96: Whiteley hammers for another six! Pennington wanted the yorker - but it’s a tad too short, and you do the maths - Whiteley leaning back before cracking it over the long-off boundary. 156-5

Ball 98: Off you go again! Leg side, into the stands! On leg stump from Pennington, it’s a slower one and Whiteley is able to send it into the North London evening sky, coming back down again over square leg. 166-5

An excellent score for Southern Brave who will feel they are in command here - Ross Whiteley and Paul Stirling adding over 100 between them. There's no shortage of firepower in the Phoenix line-up though, including T20 Blast stalwart Moeen Ali and of course Liam Livingstone. Can they hunt it down for a dramatic finish at Lord's?

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Ball 2: Gets low and takes it! What a catch! David Bedingham goes second ball. Tim David has got a remarkable snag. George Garton open the bowling and tosses it full on the pads, around the knee-roll height: Bedingham doesn’t catch it cleanly and it sails low to David, who leaps at it and grabs on the dive. Great stuff. 0-1

Ball 15: Boundary, much needed! Moeen Ali isn’t going to miss out when it’s bowled there- too full and near off, Ali simply opening up the face and nailing this through long-on, with the bounce for four. 7-1

Ball 16: Bang! Ali hits into the stands. Craig Overton goes a touch slower on a length, and Moeen’s nifty footwork allows him to crack it over square leg and into the crowd for the Phoenix’s first six. 13-1

Ball 19: Gone! Will Smeed has to walk. Full and a touch wide of off from Overton, Smeed chases and looks to cream through covers, but there’s a leading edge which sees it sail straight to Davies on the ring. The crowd roars as Livingstone enters… 14-2

Ball 23: Bang! Livingstone is off! This one is shorter from Garton, and after missing out the previous ball he finally leans back and crunches it into an executive box in the upper Grand Stand! 22-2

 

Ball 24: And again! Lord’s on their feet. Livingstone reads the fuller one from Garton perfectly this time, and hardly has to swing, just moving the wrists perfectly to flick and arch it over square, into the stands. 28-2

Ball 34: Put down! Craig Overton slips. It's fired away to deep midwicket by Moeen, and there's not enough power. Overton looks to move in, but there must be some dew on the grass as he loses his balance before he can dive, not holding properly. 36-3

Balls 37-39: Four, four, six! Livingstone looks to hit the accelerator. Jake Lintott taking the punishment here as he goes for three fuller ones. The first two are pushed right back past him and then flicked away to fine leg, the third a beautiful sweep right over the fielder at square who is a mere spectator. 52-2

Ball 42: Not his cleanest contact… six anyway! Livingstone has got the magic wrist at the moment. On a length from Jordan, the Phoenix’s thwacker-in-chief is able to get enough under this to sail over the long Lord’s boundary at cow-corner. 64-2

Ball 45: Gone! Beautiful throw, and Livingstone has to depart in cheap fashion. Angled in onto the pads by Jordan, Livingstone fires it over to cover, where the man on the rope dives in, it's too short. Tim David comes to tidy up with his teammate on the floor, and with Livingstone jogging home for the second, David hits the stumps directly! Livingstone is short and murmurs some post-9pm language as he trudges off. 70-3

 

Ball 53: Got 'im! Phenomenal catch from George Garton. Banged in on a length by Tymal Mills, Hammond hooks it away at shoulder height - you could hear the crunch off the bat and it moves at pace. No sweat for Garton though, who moves to his left to pick it off while falling! 84-4

Ball 57: Six from Ali! Hooked over the leg side brilliantly. Length ball from Garton, bounces up to shoulder height, the number three does well to shuffle across and launch it over fine leg for another maximum. 90-4

Ball 66: Scooped up to mid-on, taken! Mo goes! This is a huge wicket. Is that the game? Fuller ball from Jake Lintott, Ali strides out of his crease, and it's off the top of the bat. Craig Overton is able to move forward and grab it with ease. 97-5

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Ball 77: Fired over for six by Benjamin! Banged in on off by Overton, the number six shuffles across and hooks it off the hip over square for a maximum. 109-5

Ball 90: Another remarkable set by Jordan. Having come off a five from Mills in which he only conceded one run, the England international finds two dots and lets the Phoenix add just three more to their total. 119-5

Balls 97 and 98: A couple of fours for Howell. Jordan's length here just a little too short, but he can afford it. Howell swings out and adds boundaries at third man and square. 132-5

Ball 100: Howell hits out for one more boundary, but Southern Brave have won by 32 runs and are The Men's Hundred champions! 136-5

The Reaction

Southern Brave skipper James Vince said: "Credit to Birmingham Phoenix, there can only be one winner but they played really well and made it tough for us. Yesterday was our most complete performance, and today was pretty good as well. As a batting group, we haven't batted first much, so to be able to post a score in the final like that was exceptional. The bowlers put on a bit of a clinic in the second half, so extremely proud of them."

"It's been a different person in each game [with a standout performance]", he explained. "Ross, when he's got the chance, has been terrific. A bit earlier, the impetus he was gave us with that clean striking was magnificent. [Stirling]'s been able to convert those quick starts he's been getting into a match-winning innings."

On Liam Livingstone, he commented: "He's in terrific form - I think he's the leading run scorer in the competition, with the most sixes, I know he's been outstanding so well done to him. It was exceptional fielding and a bit of luck to get rid of him, but came as a crucial time for us."

"All of the coaching staff has been fantastic, and the squad has gelled together so quickly in such a short period of time, which has been crucial for our success", he added.

Paul Stirling was named Cazoo Match Hero, for his vital 36-ball 61. "I think it was a brilliant team performance, first and foremost", he said. "Everyone's chipped in since I've been involved, another good day for the lads - we finished it off well in the end."

"It was a trickier start than what we have had in recent games. It was a little bit two-paced at the start and we saw that in both innings with the new ball - it seemed to get easier as the innings went on. We needed an injection halfway through ours, the way the lads finished it off set it up for the bowlers."

The PCA MVP award was awarded to Livingstone. "Very disappointed [at the result], but just playing in the final, with Lord's packed out was great. We were beaten by a better team today and that can happen in cricket", he said.

"I think it's been years of hard work, travelling around the world to get better at my own game", he commented on his performance. "Playing in different franchise tournaments, it's great to have our own one here. I've really enjoyed this tournament, hopefully we've entertained some crowds. To see so many kids here today has been great."

"We didn't really know what to expect at the start of the tournament. As it has gone on, it's got stronger and stronger, and I think selling grounds out has shown people are interested in this. Hopefully, we're inspiring kids to get into cricket and the next generation are going to enjoy playing it growing up.", he added.

Southern Brave 168-5 off 100 balls

Birmingham Phoenix 136-5 off 100 balls 

Southern Brave win The Men's Hundred 2021!

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