*THE HUNDRED MENS COMPETITION- TRENT ROCKETS VS BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX MATCH 25 2023 PREVIEW*
*THE BUILD UP:*
Both these sides have been underwhelming so far. The charm to grab the best moments and seal the deal has been missing, ensuring that these sides have low win percentage so far. The Phoenix are languishing at the bottom of the table with a single win so far and against them are the Rockets who have had a mixed journey so far with just 2 wins. After losing to the Manchester Originals in their last game, they will be hoping to get back to winning ways. Daniel Sams and Lewis Gregory grabbed two wickets each but the other bowlers went on a journey as the Originals posted 181 on the board. Tom Kohler-Cadmore played a very good knock of 64 off 42 balls but it wasn’t enough as they finished their innings 10 short of the target.
The Phoenix faltered succesfully with the bat, scoring just over 1 per ball and settling for an all time low. Their 119 off 100 balls with eight wickets falling was poor and a better show from the bat will be the need of the hour.
*TRENT ROCKETS PROBABLE XI:*
Alex Hales, Joe Root, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (wk), Colin Munro, Sam Hain, Lewis Gregory (c), Samit Patel, Daniel Sams, Ish Sodhi, Luke Wood, Sam Cook
On a good batting surface where the ball comes nicely onto the bat, the quad of Hales-Root-Munro-Cadmore is threatening to even think about. They have been in good form and collectively, they could bat the opposition out of the contest. I don’t expect anybody to hold back and play the role of an anchor given the batting friendly nature of the pitch.
Having the extra pace of Luke Wood on surfaces like these which aid stroke play helps. His ability to generate raw pace with accuracy makes him a force to come up against. The fact that bowlers who can crank it up a notch and get those speed guns up and running have the tendency to rattle the opponent’s and Wood has been succesful while at it, all this while. On the other hand, my concern goes out to Daniel Sams who we can see as the weak link of the Phoenix batters are able to read his variations with perfection. Most likely, the left armer wouldn’t bowl speedy deliveries because of his low speed tendency and is likely to rely upon cutters and slower ones.
*BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX PROBABLE XI:*
Will Smeed, Ben Duckett, Jamie Smith (wk), Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali (c), Dan Mousley, Benny Howell, Chris Woakes, Adam Milne, Tanveer Sangha, Kane Richardson
Looking forward to witnessing the duo of Moeen Ali and Livingstone together at the Nottingham as visitors. Both are clean strikers of the ball who can dispatch it big and high into the sky. If they get going, it becomes hard to stop them however their habit of throwing their wicket away can be fatal to the teams chances.
A similar role which Wood is expected to play for the Rockets could be given to Adam Milne, who hits the deck hard- extracts seam movement and has a decent pace to accompany all this.
*MY PREDICTIONS:*
*FOR ROCKETS:*
Highest run getter- Alex Hales/Joe Root
Highest wicket taker- Luke Wood/Sam Cook
*FOR PHOENIX:*
Highest run getter- Liam Livingstone/Will Smeed
Highest wicket taker- Chris Woakes/Adam Milne
*FOR THIS GAME:*
Rockets to win