Moeen Ali's Birmingham Phoenix suffered a new low in the history of The Hundred Men's competition. In the ongoing season, Phoenix were bundled out for a total of 75, the lowest score in the tournament.
Chasing 155, Phoenix lost two quick wickets in the first over. Tom Hartley removed opener Miles Hammond and skipper Ali within first five deliveries.
Will Smeed looked determined despite the early wickets but Chris Benjamin did not provide the apt support from the other end. Benjamin got run out trying to sneak a quick single. Smeed's lone battle came to an end as well in the same over. The young opener top-scored with 31 runs off 17 deliveries.
From 54/3, Phoenix lost seven more wickets for just 20 runs. No other batter could score in double digits. Seasoned T20 batter Matthew Wade did not make a mark either and fell to spinner Matthew Parkinson.
Hartley and Joshua Little combined their forces to mop up the tail quickly and help Manchester Originals win by a huge margin by 79 runs.
Interestingly, in the previous season Phoenix got out all out for 87 against Originals, their previous lowest total.
In the first innings, Philip Salt dominated the proceedings and scored a 38-ball 56. Kane Richardson got rid of both openers whereas Benny Howell took three wickets. No other Phoenix bowler managed to take a wicket in the innings as Originals posted a challenging total of 154/6.
After the big loss, Phoenix are placed fifth on the points table. Their NRR has taken a big hit and now reads -0.143. On the other hand, Originals are placed third on the table. Also, the Laurie Evans-led side has the best NRR of +1.151.
Phoenix face London Spirit in the must-win encounter on August 30. Not only they need to win the game but by a fine margin as well to qualify for the eliminator.
