Sunrisers Leeds moved into second place on the Men's Hundred 2026 points table after a decisive 45-run victory over Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston. The result eliminated the Phoenix from the knockout race, marking their fifth consecutive loss of the season.
After losing the toss and being put into bat, the Sunrisers posted their highest away total of the tournament, finishing on 169/7. Ryan Rickelton continued his fine form with a 37-ball 65, anchoring the innings after an explosive start from Mitchell Marsh. The pair combined for 52 runs before Usman Tariq dismissed Marsh for 34. Although the Sunrisers faced a mid-innings wobble—fresh off a Test recall, Dan Lawrence could only manage 14 runs and in the quest for quick runs, the Sunrisers lost four wickets in the space of 13 balls at death—late-order contributions from Matthew Potts and Liam Patterson-White, who struck two sixes off the final three balls, pushed the total to a competitive 169.
In response, the Birmingham Phoenix struggled to keep pace with the required rate. Brydon Carse proved instrumental with the ball, finishing with 3-17, while Matthew Potts claimed 3-22. Carse dismissed Mitchell Owen, Will Smeed, and Rehan Ahmed early to put the visitors in control. The seamer eventually bounced Owen out though, extending the Australian’s poor form in the competition. Despite a 44-run recovery effort from Joe Clarke and Sean Dickson, the pressure of the asking rate proved too much. Abrar Ahmed and Patterson-White maintained tight spells, restricting the Phoenix to 124/8.
The Phoenix were unable to find any momentum in the final stages of their innings, failing to score a single boundary in the last fifteen balls. While Sean Dickson scored 34 and Jordan Thompson remained unbeaten on 25, the home side finished their campaign with a disappointing defeat. Potts took two in as many deliveries to finish with a three-fer of his own, while Ellis did not concede a run off his final set of five. Usman Tariq was the standout performer for the Phoenix with 2-28, but the team ultimately fell short of the Sunrisers' total, confirming their exit from the competition.
The win took the Sunrisers to second on the points table with their fourth win, only net run-rate separating them from MI London and Welsh Fire.
Rickelton then took charge as the set batter and Harry Brook got in on the act himself after the halfway mark, launching Scott Currie over extra cover before ramping him next ball.
