MI London entered the final men’s group fixture with their hopes of securing a fourth straight Hundred championship hanging by a thread, even though they managed to edge out the league’s bottom side, Birmingham Phoenix, in a closely contested encounter. The match, played at Edgbaston, unfolded under the unusual spectacle of a solar eclipse, adding an atmospheric backdrop to an already high‑stakes game. Going into the match, MI London knew exactly what was required: a win by a margin of at least 59 runs would see them overtake SunRisers Leeds for third place and clinch a home‑ground spot in the play‑offs. The toss went in Phoenix’s favour and they elected to field, putting the onus on the visitors to post a formidable total.
MI London’s innings stalled at 157 for 6, a score that would have been sufficient only if their bowlers could restrict Phoenix to 98 or fewer. The early overs were promising for the London side; three wickets fell in the powerplay, with Sikandar Raza delivering a clean‑bowled dismissal of Joe Clarke and Richard Gleeson following up by taking Mitchell Owen and Laurie Evans in consecutive balls. Gleeson’s spell elevated him to the top of the tournament’s wicket‑taking chart with 14 victims. Phoenix, however, steadied their chase through a resilient partnership between Jake Weatherley and Sean Dickson.
The duo accumulated runs methodically, and a wayward delivery from Tom Curran—recorded as a wide—pushed Phoenix’s total to 99, just beyond the threshold that would have kept MI London’s qualification hopes alive. In the second innings, MI London’s chase began with Dickson (23 off 17 balls) falling lbw to Sam Curran. Weatherley (42 off 31) was then caught in the deep, allowing Phoenix to regain momentum.
Jordan Thompson (23 not out off 13) and Rehan Ahmed (23 off 11) added quick runs, but the climax arrived when Trent Boult held his nerve, delivering a series of precise yorkers that sealed a narrow two‑run victory for Phoenix. Earlier in the game, MI London had glimpses of brilliance.
Will Jacks opened positively before being dismissed by Chris Wood, who trapped him after a mistimed slice to deep point. James Vince appeared in fine touch, and Nicholas Pooran announced his arrival with a rapid 10‑run burst off two balls, dispatching Tom Helm. Helm, however, retaliated by bowling Vince (22 off 12) with a back‑of‑the‑hand slower ball.
Rehan Ahmed then applied the brakes on the run‑rate, deceiving Sam Curran with a well‑timed googly and conceding just three runs in his first ten deliveries, which included six consecutive dot balls. The lower order contributed useful cameo innings: Raza (17 off 13), debutant Ollie Sykes (23 not out off 14) and Tom Curran (17 not out off 9) added quick firepower, but the total never seemed enough to mount the comeback they needed. With MI London eliminated, SunRisers Leeds now face Manchester Super Giants at The Kia Oval on Friday evening, a match that will determine who earns the right to contest the Lord’s final against Trent Rockets. Gleeson summed up the disappointment: "Winning five games and still missing out when two other teams have the same record is frustrating, but it underlines the depth of this competition.
Small margins – 30, 40, 50 runs – can make all the difference." The situation mirrored that of Welsh Fire and London Spirit on the men’s side, both of whom found themselves out of contention for the eliminator at The Oval and the Sunday final at Lord’s. Welsh Fire’s path to qualification was technically still open, but it would have required an unprecedented margin of victory, a tall order given their record of narrow wins and heavy defeats.
Nevertheless, the spirit of competition remained high. In Cardiff, London Spirit defended a modest 131, securing a third win of the campaign. After winning the toss, they chose to bowl, and Chris Woakes immediately made an impact, curbing the aggressive opening pair of Jonny Bairstow and Lhuandre Pretorius. Woakes’ early breakthrough allowed Lockie Ferguson to capitalize, picking up the South African after a dropped catch.
The powerplay ended at 34 for 1, with Bairstow on 22 off 11 balls. Twenty‑five deliveries later the score read 59 for 3, after Woakes dismissed Bairstow for 34 off 19 and Marco Jansen bowled ten consecutive dot balls in his first fifteen deliveries. Spirit’s leading run‑scorers, Liam Livingstone and Dewald Brevis, both fell cheaply, while James Coles managed 29 before being caught by Tom Kohler‑Cadmore off a lofted shot by Jansen.
Jamie Overton’s long‑handle delivery could not prevent Spirit from posting 131 for 8, a total that felt light given the low scoring rate of both Woakes and Jansen. When it was their turn to bat, Fire lost Matt Short early, but Phil Salt and Joe Root steadied the innings, suggesting that a handful of wickets in hand would be sufficient to chase a moderate target.
At 90 for 2 off 69 balls, with Jordan Cox accelerating, the chase appeared on track. However, the momentum shifted as Root (31 off 31) and Cox (44 off 28) fell, and a flurry of wickets – Kohler‑Cadmore, Ravindra and Jansen – in the final eight balls left Fire just one run short, resulting in a six‑run defeat.
The Hundred will conclude with the finals on Sunday, 16 August, and fans can stream the remaining action contract‑free on NOW. The tournament has once again demonstrated how every run, every wicket, and every strategic decision can tip the balance in a competition where the margins are razor‑thin and the drama never ceases.