Birmingham Phoenix, fresh off a narrow 12-run loss to Southern Brave, host a Welsh Fire side that has won two of its three matches so far, at Edgbaston on Saturday, August 1, at 2:30 PM local (7:00 PM IST).
Phoenix saw a chase collapse from a promising 52 for 1 against Brave, with Will Smeed and Rehan Ahmed both falling in a rapid clatter of wickets.
Welsh Fire arrive with confidence despite a recent 9-wicket defeat to Trent Rockets, having earlier posted big wins over Southern Brave and MI London, the latter built on Rachin Ravindra’s 98.
BPH vs WEF Match Details
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Birmingham Phoenix vs Welsh Fire, 15th Match |
| Series | The Hundred Men’s Competition 2026 |
| Date | Saturday, 1 August 2026 |
| Time | 2:30 PM BST local / 1:30 PM GMT / 7:00 PM IST |
| Venue | Edgbaston, Birmingham. Birmingham Phoenix’s home ground. |
| Format | 100-ball innings per side, five sets of 20 balls, no bowler allowed more than two sets. |
| Captains | Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix), Phil Salt (Welsh Fire) |
| Form | BPH: 1 win, 2 losses, most recently a 12-run defeat to Southern Brave after collapsing from 52 for 1 in the chase. WEF: 2 wins, 1 loss, having beaten Southern Brave and MI London (the latter behind Rachin Ravindra’s 98) before a 9-wicket defeat to Trent Rockets last time out. |
| H2H | Both franchises carry newly rebuilt squads into 2026, so there is limited recent head-to-head history between these two identities specifically, though Welsh Fire’s form so far gives them a slight psychological edge. |
Dream11 Team For BPH vs WEF, 15th Match
Top Picks For BPH vs WEF, 15th Match
| Player | Team | Role | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rachin Ravindra | WEF | Captain / AR | Captain pick. Smashed 98 off 44 in the win over MI London. At 2x. |
| Rehan Ahmed | BPH | VC / AR | Vice-Captain pick. Took 3 for 25 in the loss to Southern Brave. At 1.5x. |
| Phil Salt | WEF | WK-Batter | Welsh Fire’s captain, competition’s all-time leading run-scorer. |
| Marco Jansen | WEF | All-Rounder | Left-arm pace and lower-order hitting, key to Fire’s wins so far. |
| Mitchell Owen | BPH | All-Rounder | Powerful young Australian hitter, Phoenix’s most destructive middle-order option. |
Pitch Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Venue | Edgbaston, Birmingham. Birmingham Phoenix’s home ground. |
| Pitch Type | A flat, dry surface that generally favours batters once they are set, with some early seam and swing on offer for the new-ball bowlers. Turn is harder to come by here than at most other Hundred venues. |
| Scoring | The average first-innings score in Men’s Hundred matches at Edgbaston has sat around 136 in recent seasons. This is worth cross-checking against ESPNcricinfo Statsguru before publishing. |
| Pace vs Spin | New-ball pace from Scott Currie and Mustafizur Rahman for Phoenix, and Marco Jansen and Chris Woakes for Fire, should find some early assistance, with the pitch offering little turn for the spinners on both sides. |
| Toss Factor | Edgbaston has not shown a strong toss bias in the men’s competition this season, so expect captains to lean on team balance and conditions on the day. |
Weather Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Temperature | Around 23°C (74°F), a pleasant Birmingham summer afternoon. |
| Sky | Clear and sunny throughout the day. |
| Rain Chance | Very low, roughly 5 percent. No weather interruptions expected. |
| Humidity | Moderate, with little expected impact on swing or player stamina. |
| Overall | Good batting and bowling conditions for both sides on a clear Birmingham afternoon. |
BPH vs WEF Toss Prediction
With no strong historical toss bias at this ground, expect the toss winner to assess conditions on the day rather than follow a fixed script.
**If Jacob Bethell (Birmingham Phoenix) wins, **expect him to bat first in front of a home crowd, trusting Joe Clarke and Will Smeed to attack early before Mitchell Owen and his own hitting push the total on, backed by Scott Currie and Mustafizur Rahman to defend it.
**If Phil Salt (Welsh Fire) wins, **expect him to bat first as well, using Joe Root and himself to set the tone before Rachin Ravindra and Marco Jansen push on, with Chris Woakes and Lockie Ferguson trusted to defend a total.
Injury and Team News
Birmingham Phoenix:
Birmingham Phoenix will look to bounce back after a 12-run loss to Southern Brave, having watched a promising chase unravel with a rapid clatter of wickets in the middle overs. Captain Jacob Bethell continues to lead a young, talented squad still searching for consistency, with Rehan Ahmed’s bowling a rare bright spot in the last match. 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), Rehan Ahmed (vice-captain pick, 3 wickets in the last match), Mitchell Owen (powerful Australian top-order hitter), Donovan Ferreira (destructive wicketkeeper-batter), Will Smeed (explosive top-order option), Scott Currie (frontline pace-bowling 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.
Welsh Fire:
Welsh Fire arrive full of confidence after two wins in three matches, with Rachin Ravindra’s 98 against MI London the standout individual performance of their campaign so far. Captain Phil Salt continues to lead from the front, with Joe Root and Marco Jansen both settling quickly into the side. No injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of this fixture.
**Key players: **Phil Salt (c, competition’s all-time leading run-scorer), Rachin Ravindra (captain pick, 98 in the last win), Joe Root (classy top-order anchor), Marco Jansen (left-arm pace and lower-order hitting), Chris Woakes (experienced seam-bowling option), Lockie Ferguson (genuine pace threat).
**Predicted Welsh Fire XI: **Phil Salt (c, wk), Jordan Cox, Joe Root, Rachin Ravindra, Matthew Short, Marco Jansen, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Chris Woakes, Lockie Ferguson, Sam Cook, Ben Kellaway.
