The Hundred will reach its conclusion this weekend with the Eliminator's played at The Oval today (August 17) before the final on Sunday, August 18. Here's Wisden's pick for who will come out on top in the men's Eliminator between Southern Brave and Birmingham Phoenix.
Birmingham Phoenix have reached the knockout stages of the competition for the first time since its inaugural season in 2021. They finished second in the group stages, tied on 12 points with Oval Invincibles but with an inferior NRR, requiring them to go through the Eliminator rather than advancing directly to the final. Southern Brave finished third in the table with 11 points. They had the same amount of losses as Phoenix in the group stage (two), but had one washed-out game. This will be the Brave's second consecutive Eliminator appearance after they lose in the fixture last year.
The winner of the match will play Oval Invincibles in the final. The South London-based side are looking to retain their title, having won the competition last year, beating Manchester Originals in the final.
Men's Hundred Eliminator 2024: Who will win?
The result is incredibly tough to call, with both teams having a similar record of performance in the group stage. Birmingham Phoenix recorded a dominant win over Manchester Originals in their final match ahead of the Eliminator, winning a rain affected game by nine wickets. Ben Duckett has starred with the bat for Phoenix, with scores across the competition of 21, 92, 43*, 54*, 30 and 22*. Phoenix's core strength, however, has been their star-studded seam attack. Tim Southee and Sean Abbott both have 10+ wickets across the competition, while Adam Milne has nine.
Southern Brave have their own impressive fast-bowling attack though, with Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills having taken 14 and 13 wickets respectively in the competition to date. Brave's main asset, however, has been the blistering form of their captain, James Vince. Vince has scored 357 runs at an average of 59.50 across eight innings, including an impressive run of three consecutive half-centuries.
Quite simply, the result is too close to call, with the bookies slightly coming down on the side of Phoenix to win. The best odds to back are from GGBet, who are offering a 1.96 return on every pound betted for a Southern Brave victory.
Men's Hundred Eliminator 2024: Who will be the team with the most boundaries?
Unsurprisingly, Southern Brave should be favoured to be the side who scores the most boundaries, given the explosive potential of Kieron Pollard in their lineup. Earlier in the competition, Pollard smashed Rashid Khan for five consecutive sixes, and has 12 maximums in the competition so far. Vince also has 12 sixes across the tournament, furthering Brave's likelihood to come out on top on boundary count.
The best odds to back Brave in this regard are from Stake and Rajabets, who both offer a 2.35 return on Brave to hit the most sixes.
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