Trent Rockets vs Birmingham Phoenix Match 4 Full Commentary
Result · Jul 24 2026, Fri - 11:00 PM (IST)
TRT 204/7 (20.0)
BPH 214/4 (20.0)
Birmingham Phoenix beat Trent Rockets by 10 runs
CRR:10.20
Player Of The Match
TRT BPH
The run chase is about to get underway in what promises to be a thrilling, action-packed feast for cricket fans. Trent Rockets openers Ben Duckett and Finn Allen have taken guard out in the middle, while Saqib Mahmood prepares to deliver the crucial opening set for the Birmingham Phoenix.
... The Run Chase ...
A mountain to climb - A total of over 200 runs has never been chased down in the history of the Hundred Men's Competition, and it will require a genuinely special batting effort from the Rockets to hunt this one down. But they do have the firepower in the bank to fancy their chances, with the muscle of Allen, Duckett and David to lean on. Still, a strong start, just like the Phoenix managed, is non-negotiable here. Back in a bit with the chase.
Will Smeed is up for a chat with the broadcasters - Smeed says that it is a really good wicket and the opponents have a great batting unit but he feels that they'll be able to defend it. Smeed says that his own form has been a bit strange as he did get injured early on, but he has been playing well in terms of consistency, but a big one is missing and it is around the corner. Smeed mentions that his hand is doing well for now. Smeed reckons that the bowlers will be needed to bowl away from the hitting arc of the batters and make them hit across the wind as well.
The bleed continued - There was a brief lull for three or four sets in the middle phase, as the Phoenix eased off the throttle after losing a couple of wickets in quick succession, but this is exactly where a strong start pays dividends. Rehan Ahmed took a little time to settle before going bang bang and putting his foot back on the accelerator. Donovan Ferreira then came in and started knocking down buildings with a late injection of momentum, and their 63-run stand off just 21 balls gave the Phoenix exactly the lift they needed heading into the closing stages.
Phoenix hit escape velocity - The home team had a picture-perfect ignition in the Powerplay, Joe Clarke bursting clean through the gate in a punishing mood and launching the Rockets' bowlers into orbit, while Smeed played the perfect foil, content to sit back and let the thrusters do the work at the other end. A 54-run Powerplay gave them exactly the launchpad they needed. Clarke did not ease off once the field spread either, powering his way to a well-deserved fifty, and with the fielding restrictions gone, the assault opened up from both ends. The Rockets found themselves losing fuel fast, unable to stem the flow as the Phoenix threatened to break into a different orbit altogether.
Wham, bam, slam - 17 sixes and 11 fours in this swashbuckling batting display from the home side. With that effort, Birmingham Phoenix have managed to smash the second-highest total in the history of the Hundred Men's Competition, just behind MI London's 226 vs Welsh Fire, in 2025. A little surprising to see the tactics from the Rockets here. Craig Overton, the bowler who bowled the six dots in a spell of ten balls, was not even brought into the equation during the death overs, and Matt Henry, too, still had one set left in the tank unused.
A couple to end the innings and Birmingham Phoenix post a monstrous 214 for 4 on the board. Yorker, on middle and leg, Sean Dickson flicks this through mid-wicket for two.
SIX! Even Sean joins the six-hitting party. Short and on middle and off, Sean Dickson rocks deep inside the crease and pulls this over the fence to the left of the deep mid-wicket fielder for a biggie.
Two legal balls left. Sean Dickson is in at number 6.
OUT! CAUGHT! Gregory strikes late. Angled across the left-hander, full and wide of off. Owen throws his hands at it, going purely on instinct, and pays for it. He loses his bottom hand off the bat, and the mistimed ball swirls towards deep mid-wicket, where Calvin Harrison takes the catch safely.
SIX! Owen joins the six-hitting party. Full toss, on the pads, Mitchell Owen collapses his back knee and flicks this over the deep square leg region for a huge six. This is getting a bit out of hand for Trent Rockets.
On a length, around off, Donovan Ferreira smashes this to the deep cover region for a single and that brings the 200 up for Birmingham Phoenix.
WIDE! Full and wide down the leg side. Wided.
One final push. Lewis Gregory will bowl the last set of the first innings. Surprisingly, Craig Overton has not even been looked at, having bowled just ten bowls so far, conceding just 9 off those.
LEG BYE! Full and wide down the leg side. Mitchell Owen gets it clipped off his pads to fine leg for a leg bye.
A highly entertaining knock from Rehan Ahmed which has brought the home team in touching distance of 200. Mitchell Owen comes in at number 5.
OUT! CAUGHT! Rehan Ahmed departs on 48 as Finn Allen takes it nice and easy. Goes for the wide yorker, but slips in a low full toss wide of off. The ball drifts away from the left-hander with the angle. Rehan gets down low and stretches for it, hoping to go inside out over the off side, but the control isn't there. The bat gets sliced in the air and it balloons off towards deep point, where Allen takes a fine catch to his left.
SIX! Rehan Ahmed brings Birmingham Phoenix on the cusp of 200. Short and around off, Rehan Ahmed pulls this flat over the deep mid-wicket fence for a massive six yet again.
FOUR LEG BYES! On a length, around middle and leg, Rehan Ahmed steps across the stumps and goes for the flick but misses out as he loses his balance and falls on his back. The ball still clips his front pad and rolls to the fine leg fence for a boundary.
SIX! Rehan continues the six-hitting array. Good length, on middle and off, Rehan Ahmed clears his front foot, plants this to his leg side and slogs this over the cow corner region for a huge six.
Mohammad Amir will bowl out. 0/31 in 15 balls so far are his bowling figures.
SIX! Donovan Ferreira goes three in a row. Low full toss, around off, Donovan Ferreira goes deep inside the crease and shuffles across the stumps as well. Lofts this over the deep cover fence for a big six.
Knocking buildings down, is what Mark Butcher says on air to describe Donovan Ferreira's muscle power. The ball has been lost in the construction site. And it is not retrievable. It is being replaced as the fourth umpire comes out with a box of replacement balls. All good to resume.
SIX! Now that's been crunched out of the park. Short and around off, Donovan Ferreira stands his ground and pulls this flat and over the fence towards the deep mid-wicket region for six runs. Donovan Ferreira looks in the mood to make the most of what's left in the Phoenix innings.
SIX! Donovan Ferreira takes the aerial route and goes over the fence for six. Good length, around off, Donovan Ferreira swings through the line and lofts this over the tall figure of Tim David at long off for six runs.
Slower one, on a length, around off, Donovan Ferreira swings and misses.
Wide yorker, around off, Rehan Ahmed smashes this towards wide mid off for a single.
Billings has sprinted towards Amir at the other end and is having a chat. Will he continue and bowl out? Nope. Matt Henry is brought back on. Didn't have a promising start with the ball. 0/29 in 10 balls so far for him.
Despite a couple of wides, only 5 runs have come so far in this over. Can Amir finish it well?
Onto the next one - That brings us to the end of a breathless day of cricket at Edgbaston. With that, each team has now played at least one match. Earlier in the day, Trent Rockets Women blew away the hosts in commanding fashion, but come evening, Birmingham Phoenix's men made sure there would be no double for the visitors. Now then, we head into the first weekend of The Hundred 2026, and there's a cracking double-header lined up. The day begins at Headingley, where Sunrisers Leeds take on Southern Brave in the season's first game there, before the caravan rolls on to Sophia Gardens in Cardiff for the evening, where Welsh Fire host MI London. The first ball of the men's game, though, will be bowled at 1.30 pm GMT. But do make sure to join us in advance for the buildup. Cheers!
PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Joe Clarke wins the award for his knock of 68 off 33 balls. Clarke starts by addressing the surface, admitting it looked tricky in the first couple of balls, but credits the strength and depth at the top of the order for giving them the license to play their natural game, with special mention for how well Smeed batted alongside him to set the platform. When asked whether going ultra-aggressive was a conscious call, he confirms it was, saying he never wanted to slip into defensive mode and instead looked to put the bowlers off their lengths from the start, adding that it fortunately came off on the night. On whether there were any doubts about the Rockets chasing the total down, he does not hide it, pointing to the quality in their lineup as the reason the game is never truly over, but credits his own team's execution for getting Phoenix over the line. Talking about keeping to Usman Tariq, he reveals that he spent the last two days in the nets working out which ball was which, and expects it to continue being quite a challenge behind the stumps. On Tariq's low arm variations specifically, he explains his own method is simply to stay down for as long as possible given how little the ball bounces, and praises Tariq for a quality 20 balls on the night. On being asked about the significance of the win, he says it mattered a great deal, pointing to how badly they needed a strong start and praising the crowd for their energy. He adds that with a couple of away games coming up, the hope is to return home in a position to push for the finals.
... Presentation ...
A recap of the first innings - It was a flawless launch from Birmingham Phoenix, with Joe Clarke tearing through the gate to bring up a rapid fifty as the Powerplay alone yielded a blistering 54, with Smeed content to play second fiddle. The middle overs brought a brief wobble, as a couple of wickets fell in quick succession, but Rehan Ahmed found his rhythm before Donovan Ferreira joined in and blew things wide open. The two combined for 63 off a mere 21 balls to send the total soaring to 214, which is now the second-highest total in the history of The Hundred Men's competition, and their highest as a team. For the Rockets, Calvin Harrison was pretty impressive with a couple of wickets, conceding just 27 runs in a match where the others were taken to the cleaners.
A nosedive followed by late fightback - With 111 still needed off the last fifty balls, Trent Rockets needed someone to step forward and take ownership of the chase. Tom Banton did the hard work at one end, but the Rockets kept shedding wickets from the other. They slipped from 111 for 2 to 127 for 4, as Usman Tariq and Scott Currie stepped up with their variations to keep chipping away and also kept the batters quiet. But Banton kept the fight alive on his own, going on to bring up a smashing fifty, and though he battled hard, the pressure eventually crept in, and he too got consumed in the end.
Perfect lift-off - Trent Rockets flew out of the blocks with the bat, with Ben Duckett surviving an early drop in the very first over before Finn Allen came storming through the gate and tore into the bowling. In no time at all, they had raced to 54 in the Powerplay, and kept the throttle down to add another 50 off the next 25 balls, though both openers fell in the process of keeping the foot on the gas, leaving the Rockets at 104 for 2 at the halfway stage.
Absolute runfest in Birmingham - An aggregate of 418 runs and 29 sixes flown off the bat across both innings. This was a highly entertaining clash at Edgbaston where the bowlers, barring a couple of them, were just taken apart. For long periods it looked like anyone's game, especially with the way the Rockets came out swinging in their chase, but the hosts kept their composure at the right moments and held their nerve to pull off the win.
SIX! That's a wrap to the contest, which saw the ball flying to all the corners of the park. Birmingham Phoenix win this by 10 runs. On a length around off, Calvin Harrison gets right behind the line of the ball and lofts this with a straight bat over the fence down the ground in front of the sight screen for six more to end the contest.
SIX! He has teared it through to the stands. Back of a length, around the pads, Calvin Harrison stands his ground and whips this from the middle of his bat for a huge six over the deep square leg fence. Too little too late though, but that was some strike from Calvin.
Calvin Harrison is in at number 9, with 2 legal balls left.
OUT! CAUGHT AND BOWLED! Another one bites the dust as Owen picks up his first. A slower, full delivery around off at 70 mph. It deceives Gregory completely, as he opens up to slog but mistimes it, sending the ball rising toward leg side. Owen moves right on his follow-through, and settles under it, and completes the catch.
On a length, around the pads, Craig Overton works this through square leg for a single.
On a length, wide of off, Craig Overton gets it chipped behind the extra cover fielder for a couple of runs.
TWO WIDES! Full and wide down the leg side. Gregory lets it through. The keeper, Clarke, fluffs it to his left and parries it away, with the batters running an extra as well.
Final set coming up. Birmingham Phoenix are the clear favorites now as the Trent Rockets need 28 runs from 5 balls. Mitchell Owen will wrap it up. His bowling figures read 0/11 in 5 balls so far.
Yorker, on the pads, Craig Overton flicks this through mid-wicket for one.
That's the game for the Birmingham Phoenix. Craig Overton is in at number 8 with the Rockets still needing 29 runs off 6 balls.
OUT! CAUGHT! Currie delivers once again under pressure. Good length, angled on the pads, Tom Banton flicks this high off the pads, in the air, but this one doesn't have the wings to fly over the fence, and Sean Dickson takes this at the deep backward square leg fence. Tom Banton departs for a highly-entertaining 67. Trent Rockets are 186/6.
On a length, around middle and leg, Lewis Gregory flicks this to the deep mid-wicket region for a single.
Full and on middle and off, Tom Banton smashes this to long on for one.
SIX! This is a huge hit from Tom Banton as he sends this one 98 metres long for a biggie. Back of a length, around middle and off, Tom Banton pulls this out of the park towards the top-tier in the deep mid-wicket fence for six runs.
/31 off 15 balls so far.
Full and around off, Tom Banton drives this square on off for a single.
Wide yorker, around off, Tom Banton looks to open his bat face and guides this through square on off but misses out.
SIX! Record-breaking biggie from the bat of Banton as this is the 27th biggie of the contest, which happens to be the most in a Men's Hundred contest to date, as per Simon Doull on air. Good length, around off, Tom Banton clears his front foot and slogs this over the fence towards the cow corner region for a biggie.
FOUR! FIFTY FOR BANTON! Off just 26 balls. Back of a length, outside off. Tom flashes and flashes hard with all his might to access the off side, but the ball flies off the outside edge and beats the dive of the keeper to his right. It stays out of Clarke's outstretched right hand and races to the fence behind. With wickets constantly falling around him, Banton has played a lone hand and has kept his side very much alive in the competition.
SIX! Glorious from the batter. Pitched-up delivery, around off, Tom Banton gets right behind the line of the ball and lofts this up and over the long off fence for a biggie.
Absolute drama at Edgbaston. Santner trudges off. The hosts in ascendancy. Lewis Gregory is in at number 7.
OUT! SANTNER IS RUN OUT! What on earth was Mitchell Santner thinking when he asked the umpire about the review, as the umpire wasn't even thinking of sending this upstairs before Mitchell Santner asked for it? Good length, around middle and off, Tom Banton lofts this to the left of long on for runs. Tom Banton turns back for the second and Mitchell Santner acknowledges it as well. Donovan Ferreira darts in a flat throw to the bowler and despite the best of efforts from the batter to get back inside the crease with a full-length dive, Mitchell Santner falls short of his crease.
Back of a length, around the pads, slower from Ben Dwarshuis. Mitchell Santner helps this to the left of short fine leg for a single.