Livingstone Leads from Front as Phoenix Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

A captain's knock from Liam Livingstone and a suffocating bowling display powered Birmingham Phoenix to a vital seven-wicket win over London Spirit at Edgbaston, breathing life into their Men's Hundred campaign.

Starting the day at the bottom of the table, Phoenix were staring down the barrel of elimination. But they responded with a commanding all-round performance, chasing down 127 with 35 balls to spare to leap into a four-way tie on eight points — rekindling their playoff hopes ahead of a crucial final week.

Livingstone was at the heart of the action, starring with both bat and ball. After Trent Boult set the tone with the early wicket of Jamie Smith — castled by a searing yorker — Livingstone stepped up with the ball. He removed David Warner with a cleverly flighted off-break before deceiving Ollie Pope with a legspinner that ended the England batter’s stay.

Spirit never recovered, struggling to accelerate on a sluggish Edgbaston surface. Boult (2 for 20) returned to uproot Ashton Turner’s stumps, with the Spirit managing just two sixes in their entire innings.

Despite the early loss of Will Smeed to a vicious yorker from Luke Wood, Phoenix's chase was never in doubt. Joe Clarke counterattacked with flair, racing to a maiden half-century for the franchise. His 54 off 28 balls included nine boundaries and two sixes, laying the platform for a commanding chase.

After Clarke’s dismissal, Livingstone and Jacob Bethell took over, hammering an unbeaten 63-run stand off just 25 balls. Livingstone’s fireworks included five towering sixes, taking him past Jos Buttler as the tournament’s leading run-scorer.

Reflecting on the win, Livingstone praised his team’s intensity and execution.

“We needed a win, but we had some confidence coming into this one having played really well last game here at Edgbaston,” he said. “The crowd are amazing, they get behind us every time we go out and play, so it's always nice to put on a show for them.

“Our seam bowlers were phenomenal. I don't think they missed a single yorker at the end, and then we managed to see it home with the bat. Joe [Clarke] was brilliant today – we brought him in through the draft to do exactly that, take on the bowlers at No. 3 and give us momentum.”

Now riding the wave of back-to-back victories, Phoenix are peaking at just the right time.

“We know we're up against it,” added Livingstone. “All we can do is win our remaining games and see where we are.”

With the table wide open and only a handful of matches left, Birmingham Phoenix have reasserted themselves as genuine contenders in this year’s Hundred.