Sunrisers in qualification contention after comfortable win over eliminated Phoenix
ByMike PeterBBC Sport journalist
The Hundred men’s competition, Edgbaston
Sunrisers Leeds 169-7 (100 balls): Rickelton 65 (37); Tariq 2-28
Birmingham Phoenix 124-8 (100 balls): Dickson 34 (27); Carse 3-17, Potts 3-22
Sunrisers Leeds won by 45 runs
Sunrisers Leeds moved up to second in The Hundred and eliminated Birmingham Phoenix with a 45-run win at Edgbaston.
Opener Ryan Rickelton hit 65 from 37 balls as Sunrisers reached 169-7, while Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts took 3-17 and 3-20 respectively as Phoenix finished well short on 124-8.
South African Rickelton, who struck six fours and three sixes in his 37-ball innings, put on an opening partnership of 52 with Mitch Marsh after his side were put into bat, and then added 42 more with Harry Brook.
Off-spinner Usman Tariq took 2-28 for Phoenix, bowling the tournament’s leading run-scorer Marsh for 34 and trapping England white-ball captain Brook lbw for 19.
Rickelton was run out from the 93rd ball of the innings by wicketkeeper Joe Clarke, the third of four wickets to fall for 15 runs towards the close.
Carse claimed two wickets in the Phoenix powerplay with Mitch Owen (10) and Rehan Ahmed (0) both finding fielders, the latter departing four balls after Will Smeed (9) had also been removed, caught by Rickelton off Potts.
The hosts swiftly fell behind the required run-rate, losing wickets periodically – among them Donovan Ferreira bowled for three to become Carse’s third victim.
Sean Dickson top-scored for Phoenix with 34, before hitting straight to Brook in the deep off Nathan Ellis, while Potts bowled Scott Currie (5) and Tom Helm (0) with successive deliveries to extinguish any remaining hope for Phoenix.
Sunrisers moved up from fifth place, surpassing MI London and Welsh Fire on net run-rate, with Manchester Super Giants four points behind the trio of teams.
Phoenix remain bottom with one win and five losses, joining London Spirit in elimination with every team having played six games.
Image source, Getty ImagesRyan Rickelton struck 65 from 37 deliveries
It’s a Hundred double-header on Saturday as MI London host Trent Rockets and Southern Brave welcome Manchester Super Giants.
The women’s and men’s fixtures at The Oval start at 11:00 and 14:30 BST respectively, while at the Utilita Bowl the women’s tie starts at 14:30 and the men’s at 18:00.
You can follow ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website and app.
