James Vince's 90 not out puts Brave top as Phoenix implode at home
Written by I Dig SportsSouthern Brave 169 for 2 (Vince 90*, Pollard 38*, Davies 30) beat Birmingham Phoenix 137 for 9 (Duckett 92, Jordan 3-19, Hosein 3-23) by 32 runs
In reply, it looked like Duckett had designs on winning the game on his own, racing to a 21-ball half century as Phoenix reached 92 for 1 from 49 balls and the game absolutely in the balance.
But ignited by a tight Chris Jordan set which culminated in Liam Livingstone slicing a high catch to du Plooy at point, Brave took five wickets for five runs in 18 balls to effectively seal the match, their stellar attack of Jordan, Craig Overton, Jofra Archer, Akeal Hosein and Tymal Mills proving too good.
While Duckett hit eight fours and five sixes, the rest of the side hit just four fours between them.
"It was a nice pitch, particularly up front," Vince said. "Their bowlers bowled well at the back end and it was tricky to get the ball away at the death. Chris Jordan was fantastic, and once we got into a rhythm, we squeezed them really well. It's a fantastic group of players and people are performing at the right times."