Sunrisers Leeds vs Birmingham Phoenix Match 24 Full Commentary

The players make their way out to the middle again. The Sunrisers spread across the field and take their positions. Will Smeed and Mitchell Owen - the Phoenix openers walk to the crease. Brydon Carse has the new ball and is raring to go. Here we go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

An interesting chase ahead - It's a very good batting track out there at Edgbaston and this is not a daunting total on the board at all. And with the kind of batting firepower Phoenix have at their disposal, this one has all the makings of a humdinger. But Phoenix's batters simply haven't turned up over their last four outings with the bat. For them to stay alive in the competition, this is a game they simply have to win. Join us shortly for the run chase.

In conversation with Usman Tariq - On his spell today, Usman Tariq admits honestly that the last over didn't exactly leave him thrilled with how it went, but he's quick to point out it still did the job, with two crucial wickets helping restrict Sunrisers to a total Phoenix felt was within reach. When asked how he goes about planning for matches, he says there haven't really been formal team meetings on it, and he tends to work things out at the last minute, reading the situation as it unfolds and adjusting his ball selection on the fly if needed. On adapting to surfaces in The Hundred, Tariq notes the pitches tend to favour batters heavily, so he leans on varying his pace and mixing up his deliveries as his main weapons. He credits his time playing the Abu Dhabi T10, a format notoriously tough on bowlers, with sharpening those instincts. On being asked about the wicket of Harry Brook, he gives the credit to Donovan Ferreira, revealing it was Ferreira's idea to set a field that tempted Brook onto the back foot and encouraged him to improvise, a plan built on the belief that Brook would try something different, and one that worked exactly as intended.

Flying start followed by a nosedive - Birmingham Phoenix won the toss and chose to bowl first, only to watch Mitchell Marsh and opening partner Rickelton tear straight into the attack, putting together a rapid 52-run stand inside the Powerplay. It eventually took Usman Tariq to end Marsh's stay and hand Phoenix their first breakthrough of the innings. The next partnership looked to be building nicely until Usman struck again, breaking it up and tilting momentum firmly back in Phoenix's favour. The rest of the bowling group followed his lead, and the run rate started to stagnate for the Sunrisers. Rickelton and Lawrence then briefly added some tempo back to the score, but Lawrence's dismissal put the brakes on things once more. Through it all, Ryan Rickelton held firm at one end, continuing to bat with a good rhythm, much like he had in the previous match against London Spirit. However, the bowlers came back strongly in the closing sets, bowling tight lines to restrict the total to under 170.

In a balance at halfway - WOW! What an innings it was. The momentum was swinging like a pendulum, but the batters of Sunrisers Leeds did well to post 169 total on the board. The Sunrisers were flying in the first half, but the Phoenix impressively made a strong comeback in the second half to keep things at a level at midway.

Another one bites the dust. Matthew Potts is the new batter in at number 9 for the Sunrisers. Jordan Thompson (1/23 in 15 balls) will bowl the final set.

Penalty! The umpire signals a penalty as the Phoenix have not been able to get their balls bowled in time. Donovan Ferreira walks to the umpire and protests about that, but nothing doing. An extra fielder will have to be kept in the inner ring.

This is a brilliant comeback by the hosts in the final stages. The wicket of Rickelton could really make a big difference. Brydon Carse is in at number 8.

Last 10 balls left. The Phoenix have done really well to pull things back by picking up regular wickets. But can they finish off well? Tom Helm is back for his final five. 0/21 in 15 balls so far.

Excellent piece of fielding from skipper Donovan Ferreira. Not the first time he has hit the stumps with perfection. Rickelton is watching the batters come and go from the other end. And more crucially, he has been starved of strike as well. Liam Patterson-White is the new batter in.

Blockbuster weekend coming up - Two extremely one-sided games today at Edgbaston, then. Birmingham Phoenix have been shown the exit door in both genders. Whereas the Sunrisers Leeds are peaking at exactly the right time, with every part of the machine working in perfect sync, and their sights are now firmly locked on a top three finish. Up next, action shifts for a delicious double-header on Saturday, 8th August, 2026. First up, it's MI London taking on Trent Rockets. A game between two teams parked comfortably in the upper half of the table. That game will be played at the Kennington Oval with the first ball scheduled at 2.30 pm GMT (7 pm IST). Following that, the caravan moves down south to the Utilita Bowl in Southampton, where Southern Brave lock horns with the Manchester Super Giants. The first ball of that match will be bowled at 5 pm GMT (10.30 pm IST). Both teams are hanging by a thread and the winner will surely move up the table. As usual, the women take the stage first, followed by the men. Our build begins well in advance, so mark your presence early for that as well. For now, it's goodbye from here. Cheers!

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Ryan Rickelton wins the award for his responsible knock of 65 (37). On the significance of the win, Ryan Rickelton calls it an important one for the side, pointing out it's a big weekend across the competition with the top of the table getting increasingly tight, so getting over the line mattered, and he's hopeful the win comes with a healthy net run rate boost attached too. When asked about his own innings, he credits Mitch Marsh with taking plenty of the early heat off him, landing the first blows and buying him time to settle into his own game. He says he's moving a lot better now and carrying more self-belief than he was a week ago, adding that he's gradually finding his rhythm and genuinely enjoyed building a solid partnership alongside Marsh, hoping that trend continues. On batting alongside Marsh specifically, Rickelton says the two have crossed paths plenty as opponents over the years, even if this marked their first time actually batting together, and explains that facing someone repeatedly helps you understand their game from the outside, which tends to translate well when you're finally on the same side. He notes Marsh likes to go hard early, a role Rickelton would usually occupy himself, but here it let him sit back and ease into his own innings instead, the two complementing each other nicely, and he jokes he'd much rather have Marsh alongside him than bowling at him. About their bowling effort, he reckons Sunrisers probably left another 10 or 20 runs out there, having been well placed for an even bigger total. But he is quick to praise the bowling unit for the way they have executed their plans under pressure match after match, calling it a real testament to the team. Adds that the bowlers are currently carrying the side and he hopes that continues.

... Post-match Presentation ...

Just enough on the board - Sunrisers Leeds posted 169 on the board, their highest total away from home this season. Inserted to bat, Mitch Marsh once again set the tone with a rapid start, with the Sunrisers racing to 46 without loss inside the Powerplay. Usman Tariq struck with just his second ball of the innings, removing the in-form Marsh to pull things back nicely. The Pakistani spinner wasn't done there either, trapping Harry Brook soon after for his second big scalp. Ryan Rickelton, though, kept the innings ticking along nicely, bringing up his second fifty in as many games. Phoenix threatened a genuine fightback as Sunrisers lost a clutch of wickets and there was a phase where the boundaries dried up, but a couple of late sixes ensured the total finished with some real teeth.

Never really got going - Once again it was the Phoenix top order that came undone, no momentum to speak of inside the Powerplay and no foundation whatsoever for the innings to build on. With openers Owen and Smeed, along with Rehan, all falling cheaply again, they found themselves staring down the barrel at 23 for 3, in desperate need of someone to step up and play the rescue act. Joe Clarke and Sean Dickson did fight hard through a resilient 42-run stand, but once Clarke fell, a big chunk of the innings' momentum went with him. There was a late scrap from Dickson and Thompson, but by then it was too little too late, the asking rate had climbed through the roof, and the big overs, sets in this case, simply never arrived. Sunrisers' bowlers hunted as a pack tonight, executing the plan to perfection and never once letting Phoenix find any rhythm. They mixed their pace beautifully throughout. The spinners also chipped in with tidy, miserly spells of their own. Both Carse and Potts walked away with three wickets apiece, with Carse bringing the raw pace while Potts and Ellis cleverly varied theirs to outfox the batters, rounding off a perfect day at the office for the visitors.

Rose to the occasion as a unit - Orange is the colour of joy in Edgbaston tonight. Both the men and women have handed Phoenix back-to-back crushing defeats, and it's now curtains for their campaign in both formats, with both the men and women of Birmingham Phoenix languishing at the bottom of their respective tables. It has been a season where precious little has gone their way. So it's clear - Birmingham Phoenix are officially knocked out of the competition. A purely dominant win for Sunrisers. They simply outbatted, outbowled and outfielded Phoenix in their own backyard, a performance that also marks their first away win of this edition. And this massive win catapults the Sunrisers up to the second spot, with their net run rate now being the best among all eight teams.

What happened there? There's a bit of a delay as the on-field umpire is having a chat with Leeds' captain, Crawley. Not sure what that is about. All clear to continue now.

Cherry on the cake. A maiden set from Ellis as he finishes with figures reading 1/25 in 20 balls. Matthew Potts will bowl the last five balls of the match. 3/18 in 15 balls so far.

Barely matters at this point, but the Sunrisers have been penalised for not finishing their sets in time. Meaning, they will have to keep an extra fielder inside the ring for the rest of the innings.

Okay then, last 10 balls left. 50 runs needed for the Phoenix, with just one wicket left. It's just a matter of when now. Nathan Ellis will bowl out. 1/25 in 15 balls so far.

Chris Wood is the next batter in for the Phoenix and will face the Hat Trick ball. There have been four hat tricks in the history of the Hundred so far. Can this be the fifth one?

Another one bites the dust. Tom Helm is in at number 9.

Matthew Potts (1/17 in 10 balls) returns.