MI London saw their aspirations of securing a fourth consecutive Hundred title evaporate, even though they managed to edge out the league's bottom‑placed side, Birmingham Phoenix, in a tightly contested final men’s group fixture. The match unfolded at Edgbaston under the eerie backdrop of a solar eclipse, adding a dramatic visual to an already high‑stakes encounter. Going into the game, MI London knew exactly what was required: a win by a margin of at least 59 runs to overtake SunRisers Leeds for the third spot on the table and clinch a place in the play‑offs on their home ground.
Phoenix won the toss and elected to field, putting the onus on the visitors to post a formidable total. MI London’s innings stalled at 157‑6, a score that would have been sufficient only if they could bowl Phoenix out for 98 or fewer. Early in the powerplay, the team looked promising.
Sikandar Raza produced a spectacular spell, clean‑bowling Joe Clarke and then seeing Richard Gleeson dismiss Mitchell Owen and Laurie Evans with successive deliveries. Gleeson’s two‑in‑two burst propelled him to the top of the tournament’s wicket‑taking chart with 14 victims. The opposition, however, steadied the ship through a resilient partnership between Jake Weatherley and Sean Dickson. Their steady accumulation of runs, coupled with a wide delivered by Tom Curran, nudged Phoenix’s total to 99, just beyond the threshold MI London needed.
The narrow margin meant the London side’s hopes were now hanging by a thread. Dickson, who had contributed a brisk 23 off 17 balls, was soon trapped lbw by Sam Curran. The dismissal was quickly followed by Weatherley’s dismissal—caught deep after a 42‑run effort from 31 balls—allowing Phoenix to regain momentum.
Jordan Thompson (23 off 13) and Rehan Ahmed (23 off 11) then chipped in with quick runs, but the decisive moment arrived when Trent Boult held his nerve, delivering a series of precise yorkers that secured a two‑run victory for Phoenix. Earlier in the innings, MI London had glimpses of promise. Will Jacks got off to a solid start before falling to Chris Wood, who trapped him after a mistimed slice to deep point.
James Vince looked in good touch, and Nicholas Pooran announced his arrival with a rapid 10‑run burst off just two deliveries, dispatching Tom Helm. Helm, however, answered back by bowling Vince (22 off 12) with a deceptive back‑of‑the‑hand slower ball.
Rehan Ahmed then applied the brakes on the scoring rate, outwitting Sam Curran with a well‑timed googly and conceding only three runs from his first ten balls, six of which were dot balls. The lower order contributed useful cameo innings: Raza added 17 off 13, debutant Ollie Sykes made 23 not out off 14, and Tom Curran chipped in with 17 not out off nine deliveries. Despite these efforts, MI London’s total never looked truly competitive enough to pull off the miracle they required.
With the reigning champions now out of contention, SunRisers Leeds will face Manchester Super Giants on Friday evening at The Kia Oval, with the winner earning a coveted spot in a Lord’s final against Trent Rockets. Gleeson summed up the disappointment: "Winning five games and still missing out when two other sides have the same record is frustrating, but it underlines the depth of this competition.
You have to be at your best in every phase—30, 40, 50 runs can make all the difference." The same fate befell Welsh Fire and London Spirit’s men’s squads, mirroring the struggles of their female counterparts. Neither side could secure a place in the eliminator at The Oval, let alone the Sunday final at Lord’s.
Fire’s path to qualification remained mathematically possible but would have required an unprecedented margin of victory, given their four narrow wins and heavy defeats. Nevertheless, the Cardiff crowd witnessed a spirited performance from London Spirit, who defended a modest 131 to notch their third win of the campaign. After winning the toss, Fire chose to bowl, and Chris Woakes immediately shone, curbing the explosive pairing of Jonny Bairstow and Lhuandre Pretorius. His early breakthroughs allowed Lockie Ferguson to capitalize, picking up the South African after a dropped catch.
The powerplay ended at 34‑1, with Bairstow on 22 off 11. Twenty‑five balls later, the score read 59‑3, as Fire began to assert dominance. Woakes dismissed Bairstow for 34 off 19, while Marco Jansen bowled a tidy spell of ten dot balls in his first fifteen deliveries.
Spirit’s leading run‑scorers, Liam Livingstone and Dewald Brevis—who have amassed 233 and 212 runs respectively in the tournament—fell cheaply. James Coles, who has been finding his rhythm late in the season, contributed 29 before Jansen’s 6‑ft‑8‑in frame leapt at long‑off to take a catch for Tom Kohler‑Cadmore. Jamie Overton applied pressure with a long‑handle delivery, but the final total of 131‑8 felt lightweight, especially as both Woakes and Jansen struggled to make an impact, each conceding under a run per ball.
When Spirit batted, they lost Matt Short early, yet Phil Salt and Joe Root steadied the innings, fostering the belief that a modest target could be chased comfortably with wickets in hand. At 90‑2 after 69 balls, with Jordan Cox flexing his muscles, the outlook seemed positive.
However, the momentum evaporated as Root (31 off 31) and Cox (44 off 28) fell, and the lower order—Kohler‑Cadmore, Ravindra, and Jansen—succumbed in the final eight balls, leaving Fire just one run short of victory. They ultimately lost by six runs. The Hundred will culminate on Sunday, August 16, with the finals streamed free on NOW and available via Sky Sports.
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