As Birmingham Phoenix crushed defending champions Southern Brave by 53 runs in a sun-drenched Second City, Will Smeed scored the first 100 in the Hundred. A 14,000-person crowd was thoroughly entertained by Smeed’s unbeaten 101 off 50 balls on NHS Heroes Night in Birmingham. The employees and support staff were invited as a token of appreciation for their outstanding work.
Will Smeed raced to 50 in 25 balls, with a six over long-off from Jake Lintott during a stand of 80 runs in 44 balls with Liam Livingstone. The crucial factor was whether Smeed would reach his ton in the final 10 balls. The suspense was nail-biting and fans were on the edge when he needed 5 runs of the last 3 balls. He reached his century with four and 2 runs. However, Smeed’s partner Livingstone has been off the form for a while. Although Livingstone was the best six-hitter in the Hundred last year, he never really got going this time. He scored just two runs from his first seven balls and twenty-one from his next twenty before lifting Lintott to extra cover.
Will Smeed hits the first ever century of the tournament
Chasing a target of 177, the Brave only managed to score 123 runs. Henry Brookes had a fantastic debut. The Edgbaston lad had a 5-for-25 performance and two outstanding outfield catches as Phoenix earned their first win of the season and sent James Vince’s team their first loss in nine games. Adam Milne joined Matt Fisher, Chris Woakes, and Olly Stone on the absence list as Phoenix began to defend their total with a thinned-out seam attack. However, Kane Richardson quickly took the initiative, and he and Brooks helped their team win.
