The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026 | Match 13 | Southampton, July 30, 2026
Southern Brave finally got off the mark in this year’s men’s competition, defending a modest 128 to beat a struggling Birmingham Phoenix side by 12 runs at the Ageas Bowl. It was Brave’s first win in four attempts this season, and it came down to the wire. Southern Brave Edge Birmingham Phoenix
Match Summary
Southern Brave: 128/8 (100 balls)
Birmingham Phoenix: 116/9 (100 balls, chasing 129)
Result: Southern Brave won by 12 runs
Player of the Match: Marcus Stoinis (34 off 26 balls with the bat, 2/16 with the ball)
How It Unfolded
Brave never quite got going with the bat, stuttering to 128/8 from their 100 balls. The innings’ brightest spark came from Marcus Stoinis, who muscled two sixes off Scott Currie in a single passage one of them sailing 98 metres before falling to a sharp catch at short cover off Ferreira. It was an innings that gave Brave something to defend, even if their total looked below par on paper.
Defending it turned into a nervy affair. Birmingham Phoenix looked in control for large stretches of the chase, but the game swung firmly in Brave’s favour during a brutal five-wicket collapse inside just 30 balls. Stoinis, having already contributed with the bat, turned the screw with the ball bowling ten balls in a row for just three runs to choke the run rate and force Phoenix into mistakes.
Key wickets fell in quick succession: Stoinis induced an edge from Laurie Evans to end a rebuilding partnership, and Adil Rashid trapped Mitchell Owen off an inside edge shortly after. From there, Phoenix’s chase unravelled under pressure.
With the game hanging on the final few balls, Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan, and Luke Wood combined to close it out, dismissing the tail and denying Phoenix what had briefly looked like a plausible chase. Phoenix finished on 116/9, twelve runs short. Southern Brave Edge Birmingham Phoenix
What It Means
The win is a much-needed turnaround for Southern Brave, who had lost their opening three matches of the campaign and were staring down an early exit from knockout contention. It keeps them alive in the race for the latter stages, though they’ll need to string together results quickly.
For Birmingham Phoenix, the defeat leaves them still searching for their first win of the 2026 men’s competition, with both sides now level at the bottom of the standings.
Our Take
A total of 128 is rarely a match-winning score in The Hundred, and for most of Phoenix’s chase it looked like Brave might pay for a below-par batting effort. What flipped it was Stoinis doing what he’s built a career on — showing up in both disciplines when it matters. His ten dot-ball burst in the middle overs wasn’t flashy, but it’s exactly the kind of squeeze that turns a gettable chase into a nervy one. Brave’s bowling attack, stacked with experienced death-overs operators in Archer, Jordan, and Wood, deserves credit for holding their nerve too; a team without that depth likely doesn’t defend this total.
The bigger story, though, is Phoenix. A fifth match without a win is now a real problem, not an early-season blip, and unless their top order finds more consistency, they risk being cut adrift from the knockout race before August even gets going. Worth watching whether the coaching staff shuffle the batting order for the next fixture.
Match played at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton, as part of The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026.
About the Author
Naveen Pandey covers live scores, match reports, and analysis for NPSportsWorld, focused on The Hundred, international cricket, and multi-sport events.