Liam Livingstone continued his fine form in The Hundred with a strong all-round display – picking up 2-26 with the ball before scoring an unbeaten 45 from 20 balls to guide Birmingham Phoenix to a seven-wicket win over London Spirt.
Chasing 127, Joe Clarke struck a 25-ball 54 to give the Phoenix a solid platform and captain Livingstone finished the job with a knock that included five sixes and a four.
The 32-year-old, who also struck an unbeaten 69 in the Phoenix’s win against two-time defending champions Oval Invincibles on Tuesday, now has the most runs in this season’s Hundred with 211.
The knock further strengthens Livingstone’s reputation as one of the best finishers in The Hundred. He has scored 543 runs across 17 innings at an impressive average of 49.36 and a blistering strike-rate of 166 in chases.
However, he was left out of the England squads that were announced for the series against South Africa and Ireland on Friday.
The Phoenix skipper also picked up the wickets of Spirit opener David Warner and Ollie Pope as the Phoenix bowlers had delivered a masterclass in death bowling to restrict the Spirit to 126-6 after deciding to bowl first.
“It is a big win for us, we needed it,” said Livingstone after the game.
“We are up against it in this tournament, we know we are, but all we can do is win games and try to improve our run-rate, then we’ll see where we are.”
The tone was set early when Trent Boult sent back Spirit opener Jamie Smith for a duck and though Kane Williamson offered some resistance with a 29-ball 33, the Phoenix never let the momentum slip away.
Remarkably, they did not concede a single boundary in the final 15 deliveries as Boult and Adam Milne tightened the screws to set the stage for the win.
Their second win of the season sees the Phoenix leapfrog the Spirit to sixth place on a superior net run-rate. With eight points, they are also level with the Manchester Originals and Southern Brave.
