BIP vs OVI Match Preview
Birmingham Phoenix lost their last match to Manchester Originals by a margin of 49 runs in a game played at Old Trafford on Monday. But the Phoenix team kept their faith in the same playing eleven ahead of their defeat at the hands of the Welsh Fire team on Thursday evening. Although there are no injuries reported thus far from the Phoenix team, they may decide to make some decisive changes to their playing eleven. The main player for Phoenix is still Liam Livingstone. This English international has not been at his best so far. Yet, he turned out to be Birmingham's top run-getter on Thursday.
The skipper Moeen Ali is another crucial player for Phoenix. He can never be written off, especially in the white ball format. He has the quality of forgetting about the earlier game and getting on with it in the next one. Another significant member of the Birmingham side is Benny Howell. This 34-year-old bowling all-rounder will be the in-form player for Phoenix. He is going into this game with a combined effort of 5 for 37 runs in his last couple of games. The Phoenix team is looking for their first win of the season and could not have found a worse adversary for achieving this goal.
During the season so far, we have observed extremely consistent team selection from the management of Oval Invincibles. After yet another win on Friday, not too many changes are expected to their playing eleven for this away game at Edgbaston on Sunday. The South African batting star Heinrich Klaasen has hit 6 sixes in both his last couple of outings. He is one of the more consistent run-getters and bats with a very high strike rate. There is another critical member of the Oval Invincibles batting line-up and it is Jordan Cox.
In the game on Friday, this England hopeful Cox hammered 73 runs from just 38 balls. This innings was responsible for the batter to get the Player of the Match award as his team also went on to win the game. Another quickie that might get the nod is Gus Atkinson. Several pundits are predicting his inclusion sooner rather than later for the English international team. In his last match, he succeeded in dismissing Matthew Short who was a crucial player for the opposition. The Oval Invincibles team went unbeaten in last year's Hundred. They will be keen to register yet another win here.
Weather Report
The surface on offer at the Edgbaston in the city of Birmingham in T20 games is usually a good batting pitch. But it is likely to provide a good contest between bat and ball. But cloudy conditions are expected in the game and you might even get some showers as well. These overcast conditions can help the seamers get some movement from the surface. The wicket might become slow in case of underlying moisture. If we get clear skies, batters will enjoy the conditions more with the ball coming onto the bat nicely.
Pitch Report
The average score in the first innings at the Edgbaston in men's Hundred is 155 runs. The average score for the second innings is 128 runs. The top-most score at this venue in the Hundred competition is 184 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. This was scored by Birmingham Phoenix against Welsh Fire in 2021. Any team batting first will be looking to set a score of close to 170 runs.
Notable stats
Gus Atkinson has a terrific strike rate this year with the ball.
Gus Atkinson has picked up 9 scalps from 4 games with a strike rate of 8.22.
Will Jacks has a great strike rate with the bat.
Will Jacks has collected 278 runs from his last 9 appearances for his side Oval Invincibles with a strike rate of 175.94.
Team News
You can expect the Phoenix team to make a few changes to their side. That apart there do not appear to be any injury worries for both teams.
BIP vs OVI Probable 11
BIP Playing 11
- Will Smeed
- Ben Duckett
- Moeen Ali (C)
- Liam Livingstone
- Jamie Smith (Wk)
- Dan Mousley
- Shadab Khan
- Benny Howell
- Adam Milne
- Tom Helm
- Kane Richardson
OVI Playing 11
- Jason Roy
- Will Jacks
- Heinrich Klaasen
- Sam Curran
- Jordan Cox
- Sam Billings (C)
- Ross Whiteley
- Sunil Narine
- Gus Atkinson
- Spencer Johnson
- Nathan Sowter
Dream11 Prediction
Phoenix outfit has won both the games played earlier between these two sides in the competition. But Birmingham Phoenix has not been in the best of touches this season and is struggling to develop winning momentum. The Phoenix batting is dependent on Duckett and Livingstone. The bowling has not been restrictive in the earlier games. The Oval Invincibles are playing their best game at the moment and have a good bowling unit. The Oval batting is also looking good and so, we will bet with Oval Invincibles to win this contest.
Top Picks
Liam Livingstone: Liam Livingstone has scored 181 runs in his last 7 games with an average of 30.16 and a strike rate of 133.08.
Gus Atkinson: Gus Atkinson has been a consistent fast bowler for Oval Invincibles picking up 9 wickets from his 4 games.
Sunil Narine: This West Indian bowler is a crafty one. He has already picked up 12 wickets from 8 games with a strike rate of 12.91.
Kane Richardson: Kane Richardson has picked up 13 scalps from his last 9 games with a strike rate of 10.76.
BIP vs OVI Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: H Klaasen (VC)
Batters: J Roy, B Duckett, L Livingstone, W Jacks
All-rounders: S Narine, M Ali, B Howell, S Curran (C)
Bowlers: K Richardson, N Sowter
