Birmingham Phoenix
Birmingham Phoenix: competitions
Birmingham Phoenix: Twenty20 Cricket Competitions
Logo Tournament Wins YearsBirmingham Phoenix: overview
Birmingham Phoenix is a young team that is a regular participant in The Hundred competitions, created in 2021 to promote cricket. It performs in a 100-ball format and represents the historic counties of Warwickshire and Worcestershire, based in Birmingham. The main home ground of the team is Edgbaston, accommodating up to 25,000 spectators. The emblem is a black shield with a circular contrasting inscription containing the name of the club and a stylized image of a phoenix in the center.
Birmingham Phoenix: milestones of history
Birmingham Phoenix is one of sixteen (eight for men and the same number for women) British teams created at the junction of the 2010s and 2020s to promote a stripped-down format of cricket. The international success of Twenty20 prompted the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) to think about creating a separate tournament, the matches of which would last no more than two and a half hours. Despite the fact that the idea was vividly supported by the BBC, it took a lot of time for sports officials, the Professional Cricketers’ Association and other interested parties to agree on the details of the event, clarify its format and the principles of distribution of sponsorship contributions. It was not without the intervention of the stars: for example, the ex-captain of the Indian national cricket team, Virat Kohli, criticized the ECB for departing from the traditions of the test format. The famous athlete, in particular, said that the implementation of the new concept will harm cricket as a whole:
“Of course, for those who are involved in the process and the organization as a whole, it can be an exciting adventure, but, frankly, I can’t imagine why another format is needed. I’m very… not that upset, but sometimes you feel that you can’t cope with the demands when you already play cricket so much. The commercial aspect begins to prevail over the quality of the game, and this can not but upset. I don’t want to act as a tester of any new format… I like to play in the IPL, I like to watch BBL, because it makes you work for the future, because there you compete with high-class players. So I’m for leagues, but not for experiments.”
As a result, a simpler and more flexible structure was created compared to the traditional County Championship, which, nevertheless, retained some similarities with it. In 2019, Birmingham Phoenix joined the ranks of the “recruits” of The Hundred, who announced that the Australian Andrew McDonald would lead the men’s team, and his compatriot Ben Sawyer would lead the women’s team. In the autumn of the same year, the first draft took place. The headliner for men was Chris Woakes, for women – Amy Jones.
Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the start of the new championship had to be postponed, as well as the issue of creating a separate venue for the women’s team. In the opening draw, however, both the men’s and women’s teams of Birmingham proved themselves with a bang: both of them made it to the playoffs, finishing the tournament in third (women) and second (men) place. In the 2022 season, the results of both teams deteriorated slightly (fourth place, that is, the middle of the table, for men and women).
Birmingham Phoenix: current squad
The Birmingham Phoenix squad is regularly updated, and the captains also change (for example, after a successful 2021 season, Amy Jones gave way to Sophie Devine at the head of the women’s team). Currently, the composition of the men ‘s team is as follows:
- Batters – Miles Hammond, Will Smeed, Dan Mousley, Ben Duckett;
- All-rounders – Benny Howell, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingston, Shadab Khan;
- Wicket-keepers – Chris Benjamin, Jamie Smith;
- Pace bowlers – Tom Helm, Adam Milne, Kane Richardson, Chris Woakes.
The women ‘s team is represented by:
- Batters – Evelyn Jones, Chloe Brewer, Sterre Kalis;
- All-rounders – Ellyse Perry, Erin Burns, Sophie Devine;
- Wicket-keepers – Amy Jones;
- Pace bowlers – Emily Arlott, Issy Wong;
- Spin bowlers – Abtaha Maqsood, Hannah Baker, Katie Levick.
Birmingham Phoenix: interesting facts
Birmingham Phoenix does not have its own website. Fans can find all the information they are interested in on The Hundred portal, which publishes both information about tickets on sale and intra-club news – for example, about the presentation of the form for the season. Here you can also find videos and links to entertainment events, in particular, quizzes on the history of Birmingham Phoenix.
