The Hundred 2023: Stevie Eskinazi steers Welsh Fire to victory over Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston

Video caption, Ismail's hat-trick and Van der Merwe's catch - plays of the day
  • Author, Sam Drury
  • Role, 麻豆社 Sport

Stevie Eskinazi hit a classy 43 from 18 balls as Welsh Fire claimed a comfortable six-wicket win over Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

Two wickets apiece for David Payne (2-11), Roelof van der Merwe (2-16) and Haris Rauf (2-20) restricted the Phoenix to 112-7 at Edgbaston.

The Fire, led by Eskinazi, knocked off the runs with 15 balls to spare.

They move level on points with leaders Oval Invincibles in the men's table, while Phoenix stay winless.

What else do you need to know?

  • Even at 38, Van der Merwe remains a brilliant competitor. The Fire all-rounder dismissed both Phoenix openers and also recovered to take a fantastic instinctive catch just when it looked as though he had dropped Moeen Ali.
  • Shaheen Afridi has taken the headlines in previous games for the Fire but it was his fellow Pakistan fast bowler Rauf who shone in Birmingham, bowling Jamie Smith with an 89mph delivering then castling Liam Livingstone - who earlier hit a 102m six - with a slower ball.
  • While Eskinazi's knock ensured Fire were always in control, they did suffer a slight wobble when Benny Howell removed him and Joe Clarke four balls apart. The Phoenix bowler impressed taking 2-16 from his 20 balls.
  • Moeen also played his part with the ball, making the most of a slow, turning pitch, and slowed Fire down for a time. Good signs for England ahead of the 50-over World Cup.
  • There is further good news for the Fire with England star Jonny Bairstow set to return in time for their match against Southern Brave at Sophia Gardens on Saturday.
Video caption, 'What a moment' - Van der Merwe's catch dismisses Moeen for 17

And finally...

England spinner Jack Leach was on commentary for the match and between innings, he gave a wide-ranging interview in which he discussed the stress fracture that ruled him out of the Ashes, a potential return for the tour of India, playing under Ben Stokes' captaincy and even writing a poem for his team-mates.

You can read more on what he had to say here.

You can watch Hundred matches on 麻豆社 Two and 麻豆社 iPlayer every Wednesday and Saturday throughout the competition, alongside both finals on Sunday, 27 August. More details.