London Spirit's Eoin Morgan
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Match Previews: The Men’s and Women’s Hundred 2022 Tuesday August 30th - London Spirit v Birmingham Phoenix
Here are the Match Previews for The Men’s and Women’s Hundred 2022 Tuesday August 30th - London Spirit v Birmingham Phoenix
Scorecard - London Spirit vs Birmingham Phoenix - Match 30
Men's Hundred 2022 - Top Tournament Stats
Top Batter (Runs Scored)
Top Bowler (Wickets taken)
London Spirit Men are aiming to seal their place in The Hundred playoffs with a home victory over Birmingham Phoenix at Lord's on Tuesday.
However, Eoin Morgan's Spirit have lost two of their last three matches as they head towards the business end of the tournament and the Phoenix, who need to win and boost their net run-rate if they are to make the top three, could be dangerous opponents in St John's Wood.
Spirit look to McDermott and Morgan for batting spark
After finishing bottom of the table in the inaugural 2021 season of The Hundred, London Spirit Men blasted out of the blocks this summer, winning their first four matches.
Their title charge has faltered a little recently, as limp batting displays condemned them to defeats against Trent Rockets and Oval Invincibles but they are 4/6 to finish the league stage with a win over 6/5 visitors Birmingham Phoenix.
More runs are required from the Spirit, whose batting unit has looked less intimidating since Australia's Glenn Maxwell departed on international duty. They were bowled out for 122 by the Invincibles on Saturday, having crawled to 122-7 against the Rockets the previous weekend, and lost both games by six wickets.
In between those defeats they beat bottom side Welsh Fire thanks to an excellent all-round display by Dan Lawrence, who scored 43 off 26 balls before taking four wickets with his off-spin.
Maxwell's absence leaves the Spirit top order short of batting magic although opener Adam Rossington has got them off to some fast starts and Ben McDermott showed his class during Hampshire's T20 Blast triumph earlier in the summer.
McDermott was dismissed for a duck by his fellow Australian Peter Hatzoglou in Sunday's loss to the Invincibles but he made useful scores of 30 and 32 in his first two innings for the Spirit and is a serious contender to be top batter.
The hosts would love to see captain Morgan back in the runs with the playoffs on the horizon.
England's World Cup-winning skipper retired from international cricket after two ODI ducks against the Netherlands in June but made a bright start to The Hundred, scoring 47 and 37 in his first two knocks.
Since then, though, Morgan has made one, five not out, 27, nought and five and he will be desperate to contribute with the bat and help keep alive his side's trophy dream.
Phoenix hitters could make up for Livingstone absence
Birmingham Phoenix, last season's runners-up, suffered a major blow on Sunday as England star Liam Livingstone was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury.
Livingstone, player of the tournament in The Hundred in 2021, is Birmingham's leading runscorer this season and in his absence they collapsed to 75 all out against Manchester Originals.
That was the lowest total in men's Hundred history but the Phoenix, with talented young opener Will Smeed and England's Moeen Ali in their ranks, remain a dangerous batting unit and they will want to put Sunday's 79-run rout at Edgbaston behind them.
Given that Birmingham have to win comprehensively to ensure a superior run-rate to their top-three rivals, they should be backed to hit the most sixes against a London side who have fallen short in that department in their last three matches.
Scorecard - London Spirit vs Birmingham Phoenix - Match 22
Women's Hundred 2022 -Top Tournament Stats
Birmingham expected to seal playoff spot at Lord's
While Birmingham Phoenix Men have only a slim chance of making the playoffs, the equation is simpler for the Phoenix Women.
They are 4/7 to beat 11/8 hosts London Spirit at Lord's and a win or a tie would confirm Birmingham's top-three finish.
They could hardly have asked for a better fixture as London are in low spirits following four defeats in five matches this season.
The latest of those losses was a nine-wicket thumping by Oval Invincibles, who reduced the Spirit to 4-3 after 11 balls of the match on Saturday and chased down a target of just 81 with 42 deliveries to spare.
It is hard to see London bouncing back from that drubbing, especially as they have nothing but pride to play for at the bottom of the table, although Australia opener Beth Mooney will be determined to sign off in style.
Mooney scored 70, 36 and 61 not out in her final three Twenty20 innings at the Commonwealth Games, where the Aussies took gold, and she has scored the Spirit's only two half-centuries of 2022: 97 not out against Southern Brave and 61 not out against Welsh Fire.
Mooney is understandably short at 11/8 to be the Spirit's top batter and 15/4 to be the Match Hero on Tuesday but her compatriot Sophie Molineux could be worth chancing at 16/1 to be top Birmingham Phoenix batter.
The Australia all-rounder was dismissed early, coming in at number five, as the Phoenix slipped to 22-5 in Sunday's defeat to Manchester Originals but her first two innings of the season were 29 not out against Welsh Fire and 24 off 13 balls against Northern Superchargers.
Emily Arlott has also had an impressive campaign for the Phoenix, taking 3-19, 1-30, 1-8 and 2-17 in her last four Hundred matches, and she is 4/1 to be Birmingham's top bowler at Lord's.
The England international has also chipped in with unbeaten scores of 12, 15 and 14 in three cameos with the bat and she is an interesting price at 20/1 to be named Match Hero.
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