Northern Superchargers vs Birmingham Phoenix, HMC2023, Today Match Prediction 03 August 2023

NORS vs BRM Match Prediction & Analysis

Northern Superchargers will start their Hundred campaign against the Birmingham Pheonix at The Headingley, Leeds on 3rd August from 11 PM onwards. Superchargers finished their last campaign in number 6 with 4 victories and 4 losses. On the other hand, Birmingham Pheonix lost the chance to qualify for the eliminator on net run rate. They finished fourth with 5 wins and 3 losses.

In the last season, Superchargers beat Pheonix by 32 runs. Batting first, Superchargers scored 169 runs after fifties from Adam Lyth and Adam Hose. Phoenix’s skipper Moeen Ali took 2 wickets for 13 runs in 15 balls. David Wiese’s 3 wickets for 15 runs in 20 balls helped Superchargers win the game by 32 runs.

In an earlier encounter in 2021, Superchargers were thrashed by Pheonix while chasing 144 runs in 70 balls. Since the last outing, both teams have seen various changes in the squad, mostly in the bowling department.

RECENT PERFORMANCE

NORS

BRM

HEAD TO HEAD

TEAMS PREVIEW

Northern Superchargers Preview

Northern Superchargers have appointed Wayne Parnell as their captain after releasing Faf du Plessis. Last winter, Parnell led the Pretoria Capitals to the final of the inaugural SA20 tournament. Later on, in Major League Cricket, he assumed the captaincy of the Seattle Orcas to take them to the finals too. Will his magic help the Superchargers qualify for the finals of this season? Looking at the squad depth looks like it will.

Adam Lyth will have a new opening partner. Most probably it will be Tom Banton. Lyth was the third leading run-scorer with 299 runs in the last season at a strike rate of 175.88. He also held the record for hitting the most sixes (20). Unfortunately, he had a pretty poor vitality blast season where his strike rate plummeted below 125. But, Banton is coming with a great form having scored 468 runs in the Blast at a strike rate of 149. Adam Hose will be playing at number three. Hose scored a half-century against the Phoenix in the last season where his strike rate was almost above 160.

Superchargers have added Ben Stokes to their squad to play with Harry Brook in the middle. Both Stokes and Brook are coming with the Ashes experience where they finished in the top 5 leading run scorers. The Hundred 2022 was a season to forget for Brook where he managed to score just 85 runs in 6 innings. Since then he has 4 centuries and 8 half centuries in international cricket. He will be the player to look out for. David Wiese might play as an all-rounder with Stokes. Wiese gave a run per ball in the last season claiming 7 wickets. He took 3 against the Pheonix.

Parnell will lead the bowling unit with Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, and Reece Topley. Parnell played just two games last season claiming 4 wickets at an average of 10. Superchargers bowling unit couldn’t perform as per the expectations in the last season. Adil Rashid was their leading wicket-taker with 8 wickets in 8 games. Will he manage to pull that again? Topley will be the bowler to look out for as he is eying a position in the World Cup squad.

Key Players: Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Reece Topley.

Northern Superchargers Predicted Playing XI:

Adam Lyth, Tom Banton, Adam Hose, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, David Wiese, Reece Topley, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Wayne Parnell (Captain), Adil Rashid.

Northern Superchargers Actual Playing XI:

Adam Hose, Adam Lyth, Adil Rashid, Brydon Carse, David Wiese, Harry Brook, Matthew Short, Reece Topley, Saif Zaib, Tom Banton, Wayne Parnell

Birmingham Phoenix Preview

Birmingham Pheonix has managed to keep almost the same squad with two additions they will look forward to seeing. Ben Duckett has ed them from the Welsh Fire & Pakistani all-rounder Shadab Khan. Duckett, now the full-time England opener, had scored 220 runs in the last season at a strike rate of 135. On the other hand, Shadab Khan will bring his form from the Vitality blast where he scored 244 runs with the bat and 12 wickets with the ball.

Will Smead and Miles Hammond will open the innings for the Pheonix. Smeed was the leading run-scorer for Pheonix in the last season with 179 runs at a strike rate of 172.11. He also finished the Blast 2023 with 523 runs at a strike rate of 175. He will be the batter to look out for. Chris Benjamin will play as a regular wicket-keeper after Pheonix released Matthew Wade from the squad.

Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali will be the all-rounders for Pheonix. Both Ali and Livingstone scored 172 runs each in the last season. Ali even took 5 wickets with the ball but was a bit expensive. Benny Howell will be the third all-rounder on the team. Howell took 9 wickets in the last season at an average of 22.44. Phoenix will be still left with the options like Chris Woakes & Jacob Bethell on the bench.

Tom Helm and Kane Richardson will lead the bowling unit just like the last season. Helm finished the season with 14 wickets as a leading wicket-taker. He averaged 14.07 throughout the season. Richardson got 13 wickets in his pocket at an average of 13.15 - the lowest among all. Henry Brooks and Adam Milne will be the remaining players to fill the 2 spots.

Key Players: Liam Livingstone, Will Smeed, Shadab Khan.

Birmingham Phoenix Predicted Playing XI:

Liam Livingstone, Will Smeed, Shadab Khan, Moeen Ali (Captain), Ben Duckett, Miles Hammond, Ben Howell, Tom Helm, Kane Richardson, Henry Brooks, Chris Benjamin.

Birmingham Phoenix Actual Playing XI:

Adam Milne, Benny Howell, Ben Duckett, Chris Benjamin, Dan Mousley, Jacob Bethell, Will Smeed, Jamie Smith, Kane Richardson, Shadab Khan, Tom Helm

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The weather will be mostly cloudy. The temperature will range between 11 and 17. The wind will be flowing from the west at 8-12 kmh. It will be a rainy condition in the leeds throughout the week. Hence, it will be difficult to say if the game will happen or not. Headingley pitch is typically known for being a balanced wicket, offering assistance to both batsmen and bowlers. The surface tends to be flat and true, making it conducive for stroke play and high-scoring contests. Overcast and cloudy conditions may assist seam bowlers.

NORS vs BRM Pitch Report

The 4th Hundred game between Northern Superchargers and Birmingham Pheonix will be played at the Headingley, Leeds. The match will be played from 3rd August from 11:00 pm onwards. The venue has a capacity of 17000 spectators and has hosted 83 Tests, 47 ODIs & 1 T20I.

Toss: To Bowl

In 144 T20Is, the results have favored teams equally either while chasing or defending the target. The team winning the toss should ball first as the chasing gets comfortable in the second innings with the ball coming easily on the bat. In 8 games, teams chasing and defending the target have won 4 each.