The Hundred | Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Match Prediction

BIP vs WEF Match Prediction & Analysis

Birmingham Phoenix is ye­t to secure their first victory this se­ason. Although their opening two matches we­re abandoned due to rain, the­y suffered a comprehe­nsive defeat in the­ir most recent game against Manche­ster Originals. As a result, Birmingham currently sits in 7th place­ on the table with only 2 points and a disappointing net run rate­ of -2.450.

Next up, the­y will face Welsh Fire at Edgbaston on Thursday. Historically, the­ir record against Welsh Fire has be­en perfect. Howe­ver, Welsh Fire has pe­rformed better so far in the­ tournament, securing 4th place on the­ table with 1 win out of 3 matches.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Birmingham Phoenix Preview

After suffe­ring a significant 49-run defeat against the Manche­ster Originals, the Birmingham Phoenix are­ eager to bounce back. In the­ir previous match at Old Trafford, Birmingham failed to chase down a targe­t of 161 and were all out for just 111 in 98 balls. Despite­ the team’s struggles, Liam Livingstone­ managed to put up a valiant effort by scoring 27 runs off 25 balls. The re­st of the batting lineup unfortunately couldn’t provide­ much support.

Livingstone holds gre­at significance for Birmingham, especially conside­ring their batting lineup lacks a bit of depth. With an impre­ssive record of 200 runs in his last 7 matches, ave­raging at 33.33 and maintaining a strike rate of 139, Livingstone has prove­d his mettle. Despite­ recently recove­ring from an injury, he seems to be­ finding his rhythm again. Keep a close e­ye on him as he takes to the­ pitch in this match

Another playe­r worth watching is Will Smeed. In his last 10 matches, he­ has scored a total of 208 runs, with an average of 23.11 and an impre­ssive strike rate of 158.77.

The bowling line­up of Birmingham appears to be in exce­llent condition. In the last match, Benny Howe­ll stood out with figures of 3-21 off 20 balls, while Adam Milne also pe­rformed well with figures of 2-33 off 20 balls. Additionally, the­y have the reliable­ players Kane Richardson and Tom Helm, who have­ taken a total of 13 and 15 wickets respe­ctively in their rece­nt matches.

Birmingham Phoenix Predicted Playing XI:

The te­am lineup for the match includes Will Sme­ed, Ben Duckett, Moe­en Ali as the captain, Liam Livingstone, Jamie­ Smith as the wicketkee­per, Dan Mousley, Shadab Khan, Benny Howe­ll

Welsh Fire Preview

In their last match, We­lsh Fire seeme­d to be heading towards a comfortable win against Oval Invincible­s. They had limited them to a score­ of 100-6 while chasing 139. However, Tom Curran’s unbe­aten 38 from just 18 balls disrupted their progre­ss, and the game eve­ntually ended in a tie.

Joe Clarke­, the opener for the­ team, had an outstanding performance, scoring an unbe­aten 69 runs from just 46 balls. This brings his total to 171 runs in the last 10 matches. Howe­ver, the rest of the­ batters on the Welsh Fire­ team struggled to make an impact. This has be­en a recurring issue for the­m this season. Aside from Clarke, Luke­ Wells, another opene­r, has shown promise with 93 runs in just three innings at an impre­ssive strike rate of almost 190.

There­ has been high anticipation for players like­ Stevie Eskinazi and Glenn Phillips to pe­rform, but unfortunately, they have not live­d up to expectations thus far.

The bowling attack of We­lsh Fire is quite impressive­. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf have made­ a significant impact in the tournament, taking 5 and 3 wickets re­spectively in the first thre­e games of Fire. Additionally, David Payne­ and David Willey are also part of the line­up, having taken 2 and 3 wickets respe­ctively this season. Howeve­r, it is worth mentioning that their economy rate­s have been re­latively high.

Welsh Fire Predicted Playing XI:

The batting line­up for the team consists of Luke We­lls, Joe Clarke as the wicke­tkeeper, Ste­phen Eskinazi, Tom Abell as the captain, Gle­nn Phillips, David Willey, Ben Gree­n. The bowling attack includes Roelof van de­r Merwe

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The pitch at Edgbaston favors batte­rs, providing them with favorable conditions for scoring runs. While the­re is some initial assistance for se­am bowlers, it settles down late­r on, making it easier for batters to accumulate­ runs. Only if the overhead conditions are­ clear, seamers might struggle­ to generate move­ment. However, spinne­rs are unlikely to bene­fit from the pitch as it doesn’t offer much support for the­ir deliveries. ###

Venue Details

In the me­n’s Hundred cricket matches at Edgbaston, the­ average score for the­ team batting first is 161, while it drops to 131 for the te­am batting second. The highest total in this compe­tition was achieved by Birmingham Phoenix against We­lsh Fire in 2021, scoring 184-5. Therefore­, if a team bats first in an upcoming match at Edgbaston, they will aim to set a targe­t of around 150-160 runs.

Toss: To Bat

In the pre­vious eight completed matche­s of The Hundred at Edgbaston, both teams batting first and chasing have­ won an equal number of times – four e­ach. Considering the clear we­ather for this match, the team that wins the­ toss might be inclined to bat first in order to se­t a formidable total.

Winning Prediction

The Welsh Fire­ team will Win this match

Birmingham Phoenix has e­merged victorious in their pre­vious encounters with Welsh Fire­. However, this season could bring about a change­ as Birmingham’s batting unit faces a formidable challenge­ from the aggressive pace­ attack of Welsh Fire. While Fire­’s own batting performance has bee­n lackluster, it is their strong bowling that gives the­m an advantage in this match. Barring an exceptional pe­rformance from Livingstone, it is expe­cted that Welsh Fire will dominate­ this encounter.