Southern Brave, winless and under real pressure after three straight defeats despite a star-studded squad, host a Birmingham Phoenix side looking for consistency, at the Utilita Bowl on Thursday, July 30, at 6:30 PM local (11:00 PM IST).
Brave’s latest loss came by 3 wickets to MI London, another case of a promising start not converted into a result.
Phoenix, meanwhile, won the highest-scoring game in the competition’s history against Trent Rockets before being thumped by 87 runs against Manchester Super Giants, leaving them at 1 win and 1 loss.
Southern Brave have historically dominated this fixture, but their form this season makes this a genuinely tense contest for captain Chris Jordan.
SOB vs BPH Match Details
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Southern Brave vs Birmingham Phoenix, 13th Match |
| Series | The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026 |
| Date | Thursday, 30 July 2026 |
| Time | 6:30 PM BST local / 5:30 PM GMT / 11:00 PM IST |
| Venue | Utilita Bowl, Southampton. Southern Brave’s home ground. |
| Format | 100-ball innings per side, five sets of 20 balls, no bowler allowed more than two sets. |
| Captains | Chris Jordan (Southern Brave), Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix) |
| Form | SOB: Lost all three matches so far this season, most recently a 3-wicket defeat to MI London, despite a squad featuring Jofra Archer, Marcus Stoinis, David Miller, Adil Rashid and Tristan Stubbs. Under real pressure heading into this near must-win fixture. BPH: 1 win, 1 loss. Won the highest-scoring match in Hundred history against Trent Rockets before a heavy 87-run defeat to Manchester Super Giants. |
| H2H | Southern Brave have historically dominated this rivalry, winning 6 of the last 7 meetings against Birmingham Phoenix, including a Super Over win in the 2024 Eliminator and a 9-wicket win at this same ground last season. That history offers little comfort given Brave’s current form. |
Dream11 Team For SOB vs BPH, 13th Match
Top Picks for SOB vs BPH, 13th Match
| Player | Team | Role | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie Smith | SOB | Captain / WK | Captain pick. Clean ball-striker in a talented but misfiring top order. At 2x. |
| David Miller | SOB | VC / Batter | Vice-Captain pick. Proven finisher capable of a match-winning cameo. At 1.5x. |
| Jofra Archer | SOB | Bowler | Genuine new-ball wicket-taking threat, key to ending Brave’s losing run. |
| Mitchell Owen | BPH | All-Rounder | Powerful young Australian hitter, part of Phoenix’s record-breaking win over Trent Rockets. |
| Jacob Bethell | BPH | Captain / AR | Young Phoenix captain capable of turning a game with the bat. |
Pitch Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Venue | Utilita Bowl, Southampton. Southern Brave’s home ground since the competition began in 2021. |
| Pitch Type | A traditionally fair surface for both bat and ball, with some early seam movement followed by good conditions for stroke-play once batters are in. |
| Scoring | Men’s matches at this ground have averaged around 147 in the first innings across recent Hundred fixtures. This is worth cross-checking against ESPNcricinfo Statsguru before publishing. |
| Pace vs Spin | New-ball pace from Jofra Archer and Luke Wood for Brave, and Scott Currie and Mustafizur Rahman for Phoenix, should find some early assistance, with Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed’s leg-spin likely to be the standout threats through the middle overs. |
| Toss Factor | The Utilita Bowl has not historically shown a strong toss bias in the men’s competition, so expect captains to lean on conditions and team balance rather than a fixed script. |
Weather Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Temperature | Around 25°C (77°F), a mild evening for the 6:30 PM start. |
| Sky | Mostly cloudy through the day. |
| Rain Chance | Moderate, around 25 percent. Worth keeping an eye on, though not high enough to expect a wash-out. |
| Humidity | Moderate, with some chance of helping the ball swing under cloud cover and lights. |
| Overall | Good batting and bowling conditions for both sides, with a moderate rain risk worth monitoring closer to the toss. |
SOB vs BPH Toss Prediction
With no strong historical toss bias at this ground, expect the toss winner to assess conditions on the day, with Southern Brave likely to want early control given the pressure on their season so far.
**If Chris Jordan (Southern Brave) wins, **expect him to bowl first, trusting Jofra Archer and Luke Wood to make early inroads before backing his misfiring but talented top order to chase down whatever Phoenix can post.
**If Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix) wins, **expect him to bat first, trusting Will Smeed and Joe Clarke to attack early before Mitchell Owen and his own hitting push the total on, backed by Mustafizur Rahman and Scott Currie to defend it.
Injury and Team News
Southern Brave:
Southern Brave are winless through three matches this season, a stark contrast to the quality on paper in a squad featuring Jofra Archer, Marcus Stoinis, David Miller, Adil Rashid and Tristan Stubbs. Captain Chris Jordan described this as a near must-win fixture, with the side having repeatedly failed to convert promising starts into results. No injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of this fixture.
**Key players: **Chris Jordan (c, franchise stalwart under pressure for results), Jamie Smith (captain pick, clean ball-striking top-order option), David Miller (vice-captain pick, proven finisher), Marcus Stoinis (genuine all-round threat), Jofra Archer (frontline pace, key to a turnaround), Adil Rashid (experienced leg-spin option), Tristan Stubbs (explosive middle-order hitter).
**Predicted Southern Brave XI: **Jamie Smith (wk), Ben McKinney, David Miller, Marcus Stoinis, Tristan Stubbs, Nikhil Chaudhary, Chris Jordan (c), Adil Rashid, Jofra Archer, Luke Wood, Dan Worrall.
Birmingham Phoenix:
Birmingham Phoenix arrive on the back of a heavy defeat to Manchester Super Giants, having earlier won the highest-scoring match in Hundred history against Trent Rockets. Captain Jacob Bethell will look for his side’s top order, including Will Smeed and Joe Clarke, to find the same form that carried them past Trent Rockets. No injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of this fixture.
**Key players: **Jacob Bethell (c, capable of turning a game with the bat), Mitchell Owen (powerful Australian top-order hitter), Donovan Ferreira (destructive wicketkeeper-batter), Joe Clarke (contributed to the record win over Trent Rockets), Mustafizur Rahman (left-arm pace with the new ball), Rehan Ahmed (leg-spin option).
**Predicted Birmingham Phoenix XI: **Will Smeed, Joe Clarke, Laurie Evans, Jacob Bethell (c), Donovan Ferreira (wk), Mitchell Owen, Jordan Thompson, Rehan Ahmed, Scott Currie, Mustafizur Rahman, Chris Wood.
