Phillips blasts seven sixes and five fours to revive Fire from 2-2 and lead successful chase after Spirit post 163-5, their highest total of the tournament; victory ensures Fire finish in seventh spot, three points clear of Eoin Morgan's side
Wednesday 18 August 2021 22:30, UK
For the first time since the lifting of COVID restrictions in Wales, Sophia Gardens could welcome a full crowd in – so everyone was hoping for a belter from Welsh Fire and London Spirit, even if it was the battle of the wooden spoon…
Welsh Fire delighted their home fans with a spirited victory - and condemned London Spirit to bottom spot in the process - on the back of a brilliant 80 off 35 from Glenn Phillips. Fire completed the second-highest chase in the tournament by overtaking Spirit's 163-5, which featured a bullish 72 off 45 balls by Josh Inglis, with two balls left after Phillips had rescued the hosts from 2-2.
Spirit looked in the box seat as Blake Cullen picked off Tom Banton and David Lloyd for second-ball ducks before Brad Wheal (3-30) claimed the key wicket of captain Ben Duckett, bowled for six. But Phillips lit up the stadium with a stand-and-deliver innings, packed with powerful ball-striking particularly when the ball was short of a length.
Phillips brought up his fifty off 21 balls with one of seven sixes, the pick of which was an imperious maximum down the ground off Mason Crane. At that point Fire still needed 51 off 37 balls and Leus du Ploy (26), Josh Cobb (28no off 15) and Qais Ahmad (13no) completed the job.
That left Spirit - highly-fancied before the tournament got underway - with just one victory to their name from eight games despite Inglis' impressive knock.
The opener had more than a helping hand from Joe Cracknell, who grabbed his opportunity to bat at three and struck 35 in impressive fashion. Eoin Morgan (25 off 12 balls) mowed Luke Fletcher for two sixes over midwicket in an over as the visitors posted a challenging target despite 3-21 from Ryan Higgins.
At the halfway stage Yorkshire-born Aussie Inglis, whose second fifty in the tournament came up off 31 balls, appeared to have this sewn up but instead, the honours went to South African-born New Zealander Phillips - and quite rightly so for an incredible array of hitting that smothered Spirit's hopes. Here's more from Mark Butcher...
"I've had a ringside seat watching this guy in recent years out in the Caribbean Premier League, where he has carried the Jamaica Tallawahs batting line-up; he's very, very powerful and very pugnacious. He doesn't need a lot of pace on the ball to be able to do that either - he's played on some slow pitches out there and is still able to generate that bat speed.
"He loves hitting through the leg-side but he's also got the ramps and the reverse hits. He's a thoroughly, thoroughly modern player. He wants to get himself back in the reckoning to play in the World T20 so he's loving the opportunity to play in as many different conditions as he possibly can."
Josh Cobb celebrated his 31st birthday on Tuesday and he was celebrating again on Wednesday after taking a stunning boundary catch to dismiss Northampton mate Adam Rossington. The hefty opener swung the ball down the ground looking to pump Matt Critchley over the rope only to find Cobb waiting and making light of a reverse cup catch!
Mind you, this crowd catch gave him a pretty good run for his money...
GLENN PHILLIPS: "Scoring the first hundred in The Hundred was definitely on my mind but in the end, we're a team-first mentality and we had to try and finish it and we did with a couple of balls to go. It's great to have so many people here, the COVID restrictions have become a bit more lenient, which is amazing. The more I think about my batting the worse it gets so there's a very simple game-plan that goes on!"
A watching brief - or perhaps a spot of planning for 2022 - for these two under-achieving teams. Meanwhile, we will bring you the men's Eliminator on Friday, when Southern Brave face Trent Rockets with the winner earning a shot at Birmingham Phoenix in Saturday's final. Coverage of the men's game begins at 6pm on Sky Sports The Hundred, following the conclusion of the women's Eliminator between Oval Invincibles and Birmingham Phoenix.
Watch The Hundred Eliminators live on Sky Sports from 2.30pm on Friday.
