BIR (Birmingham Phoenix) vs WELF (Welsh Fire) Match Prediction

BIR

45%

Chance of Winning

WELF

55%

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Aug 10, 202308:30 PM

Test

Edgbaston Cricket Ground

Birmingham Phoenix will take on Trent Welsh Fire in the 14th match of The Hundred Men's Competition 2023 at the Edgbaston, Birmingham on Thursday, August 10. The action will kick off from 11:00 PM IST.

In the 2022 edition of The Hundred Men's competition Birmingham Phoenix finished fourth in the 8-team table after winning four and losing as many matches. Welsh Fire lost each of their eight matches and finished at the bottom of the points table.

Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Chance of Winning

Welsh Fire would be the favourites in their upcoming match against Birmingham Phoenix on Thursday. The reason behind is quite obvious. Welsh Fire have the best pace bowling unit in the tournament and they would pose a tough challenge for Birmingham who were bundled out for 111 in 98 matches in their last match. Ben Duckett, who has scored 44 runs in two matches, is their leading run-scorer so far in the tournament.

The pace unit consisting of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and David Willey has made run-scoring difficult for the oppositions and have compensated for the lack of batting prowess in the team. However, that issue would be addressed once a resting Jonny Bairstow is back in the squad. For now the onus will be on Tom Abell, Glen Phillips and Luke Well and Joe Clarke who scored 69 off 46 in the last match.

Birmingham were five down for 84 when their first match was called off due to rain. Rain abandoned the second match and in the third match they were bundled out for 111. Their bowling also does not have a very lethal bowler who has the capability of turning the match on its head. Adam Milne and Kane Richardson leaked 33 runs each in their last match. Shadab Khan is yet to take a wicket. Despite the big names Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone and Ben Duckett, Birmingham look under pressure.

BP chances of winning - 45%

WF chances of winning - 55%

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Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Tournament Prediction & Betting Tips 2023

Moeen Ali was part of the CSK team which won their fifth IPL title this year. He came out of retirement recently to contribute handsomely in England Ashes 2023. He played his first match of the season against Manchester Originals on Monday but could score just one off 2 balls. He did not bowl. He would be aiming for a better outing in the next game.

Glenn Phillips will have to contribute handsomely with the bat in the absence of Jonny Bairstow. So far, he has managed to score just 47 runs from three innings. Phillips coming back to form will give Welsh Fire a massive edge.

Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Match Toss Prediction

In the last match of the men's Hundred played at Edgbaston, Manchester Originals elected to bat first and won the match by 79 runs. Birmingham Phoenix elected to field first in the second-last match but lost to Northern Superchargers by 32 runs. The home side elected to field first in the third-last match as well. They won the match by seven wickets.

Weather Report

Very low chances of rain when the match between Birmingham Phoenix and Welsh Fire starts in Birmingham on Thursday at 6:00 PM (IST). "Intermittent clouds," AccuWeather has predicted from 6:00 to 9:00 PM. No rain prediction in the period after that as well. Also, the humidity level will be somewhere around 70 percent and the temperature could hover around 25-26 degree celsius.

Birmingham Phoenix Player List

Birmingham Phoenix Squad

Chris Woakes, Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Shadab Khan (Tanveer Sangha from August 14), Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Will Smeed, Kane Richardson, Jamie Smith, Tom Helm, Miles Hammond, Chris Benjamin, Dan Mousley, Henry Brookes, Jacob Bethell

BP Predicted XI

Birmingham Phoenix Team Form

Birmingham Phoenix lost their last match against Manchester Originals by 49 runs. Their second-last match was abandoned, while the first match of the season against Northern Superchargers ended without a result due to rain interruption. They won their last match of the previous season by one wicket against London Spirit. Overall, the side has lost two of their last three (complete) matches.

Welsh Fire Player List

Welsh Fire Squad

Jonny Bairstow, Tom Abell, David Willey, Shaheen Afridi, Joe Clarke, Glenn Phillips, Ben Green, Haris Rauf, David Payne, Roelof van der Merwe, Jake Ball, Stephen Eskinazi, Dan Douthwaite, George Scrimshaw, Luke Wells, Chris Cooke

WF Predicted XI

Welsh Fire Team Form

Welsh Fire played a thrilling tie against Oval Invincibles in their last match. They lost to Southern Brave in their second-last match by 2 runs. The first match of the men's Hundred 2023 season saw them beat Manchester Originals by 9 runs. Overall, Fire have lost three of their last five matches.

Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Head to Head

The two teams have played two times against each other. Birmingham Phoenix have lost both of them.

Matches: 2

Birmingham Phoenix won: 2

Welsh Fire won: 0

Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Betting Odds

Birmingham Phoenix opening partnership to be under 18.5

The Birmingham Phoenix opening pair partnered for 2 runs in their first match and 20 in the second match. The side has already tried opening combinations. Will Smeed and Ben Duckett opened in the last match. After two innings, Smeed has scored 29 runs, while Duckett has scored 44. The side is yet to register a win this season and that pressure combined with the pressure of facing the first over from a steaming Shaheen Afridi would make it very difficult for Birmingham Phoenix opener to score over 19 runs for the opening wicket.

Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Top Team Batter

Liam Livingstone to be Birmingham Phoenix's top batter

Liam Livingstone was the third-highest run-scorer for Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred 2022. He scored 173 runs in six matches at an average of 34.60 and a strike rate of 145.37. He scored 27 runs off 27 balls in his first outing of the ongoing season on Monday. He is expected to score big against Welsh Fire on Thursday.

In the Vitality Blast 2023, Livingstone scored 271 runs in 13 matches at an average of 24.63 and a strike rate of 134.15. With the World Cup 2023 fast approaching, Livingstone would aim to get into the groove with his outing in the men's Hundred. Overall, the 30-year-old batter has scored 5599 runs at an average of 28.86 and a strike rate of 145.99 in 229 T20 matches.

Luke Wells to be Welsh Fire's top batter

In the absence of star batter Jonny Bairstow, Luke Wells has tried stepping up for Welsh Fire. The first match saw him hit 57 off 23 balls, while in the second game he scored 24 runs off balls. The 32-year-old left-hand batter scored 12 off seven in the last match.

Recently, he was part of the Lancashire squad in the Vitality Blast 2023. The southpaw scored 216 runs in 12 matches at a strike rate of 157.66. Wells is currently the second-highest run-scorer of the season after Jos Buttler. Overall, he has played 39 T20 matches and scored 541 runs at an average of 17.45 and a strike rate of 136.61.

Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire Top bowler

Chris Woakes to be Birmingham Phoenix's top bowler

The right-arm pacer bagged the England Player of the Series award in the just-concluded Ashes 2023 and would now be aiming to make an impact for Birmingham Phoenix. He recently played in seven Vitality Blast 2023 matches for Birmingham Bears and picked seven wickets at an average of 28.42 and an economy rate of 8.29. Overall, he has picked 156 wickets in 144 T20 matches at an average of 24.90 and an economy rate of 8.23. He did not turn up for the first three games but should turn up for the fourth game.

Shaheen Afridi to be Welsh Fire's top bowler

Shaheen Afridi has arguably the most lethal bowler in the men's Hundred 2023. He is currently the leading wicket-taker (after 10 matches of men's Hundred). The left-arm pacer has picked five wickets in three matches at an average of 12.40 and an economy rate of 7.44. He picked two wickets for two runs in his last outing against Oval Invincibles. He was part of the Nottinghamshire squad in the Vitality Blast 2023. He picked 22 wickets in 14 matches for them at an average of 20.81.

Having spent a considerable time in England, Shaheen has become even more lethal in English conditions. He is expected to give it his all for Fire before flying back home for the Afghanistan ODIs and Asia Cup 2023. Overall, he has played 160 T20 matches and picked 228 wickets at an average of 20.58.

Our Prediction

Favorites to win: Welsh Fire

Welsh Fire are the favourites to beat under-pressure Birmingham Phoenix in their upcoming match. Their pace unit has made life difficult for batters in the league and the case is expected to be no different for Birmingham batters who have struggled in their first two innings. They were five down for 84 when their first match was called off due to rain. Rain abandoned the second match and in the third match they were bundled out for 111. The side is currently placed seventh in the 8-team table and does not even have a noticeable bowling unit. On the flip side, Welsh Fire has done exceedingly well despite an average batting unit. They have lost just one match and that by a margin of just two runs and after a shocking counter-attacking innings from Chris Jordan. Welsh Following a thrilling draw in their last game, Welsh Fire would be pumped up to beat Birmingham Phoenix in their upcoming match.

BP to win - 1.66 (Parimatch)

WF to win - 2.14 (Parimatch)

Shankar Shekh

Sportscafe's author

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