MI London take on Birmingham Phoenix in the final match of the group stage of The Hundred at Edgbaston on Wednesday evening, with the visitors needing a big win to seal an Eliminator spot.
The 2026 Hundred is into its final week of group-stage action, with the remaining men's knockout places still to be decided ahead of the Eliminator at The Oval on Friday.
Trent Rockets have already secured their place in the final, leaving two other spots up for grabs.
For MI, Wednesday's meeting with the Phoenix is a must-win contest. Birmingham are already out of contention, while MI are locked on 16 points alongside Welsh Fire, with both sides hoping to overhaul Manchester Super Giants.
That makes this a potentially crucial opportunity for MI, who as the last team to play, will have the advantage of knowing exactly what they need from their final group game.
Their net run rate of +0.262 is currently inferior to the Super Giants' +0.791, but comfortably ahead of the Fire's -1.001.
With Phoenix playing for pride only, MI will be targeting a convincing victory to keep their chances of making it four Hundred titles on the spin.
Birmingham Phoenix v MI London Tips Summary
Best Bet - Joe Clarke - Birmingham Phoenix top batter @ 5/2
Alternative Bet - MI London highest opening partnership @ 4/5
Bet Builder - Richard Gleeson to take 1+ wicket, Will Jacks to score 30+ runs & Sam Curran to score 20+ runs @ 5/1
Birmingham Phoenix v MI London Prediction
Best Bet: Joe Clarke - Birmingham Phoenix top batter @ 5/2
The Phoenix have had a tournament to forget, with their sole win coming in their opening match and followed up by six defeats.
However, the one chink of light for the Phoenix has been the form of Joe Clarke, who, despite the form of his side, sits second in the list of highest run scorers with 290, behind only Mitchell Marsh.
Clarke has only scored fewer than 20 runs on one occasion this season and hit 73 last time out. He averages 42 at Edgbaston in The Hundred this summer and hit 64 at the ground in a T20 match for Notts in July, so is clearly very comfortable.
Alternative Bet: MI London highest opening partnership @ 4/5
Clarke has been the shining light for the Phoenix, but unfortunately for his side, runs have been hard to come by for the other batters.
Clarke was promoted to the top of the order last time out, with Will Smeed left out of the side. However, despite Clarke's 73, Mitchell Owen's struggles with the bat continued, with the opener managing just six in an opening-wicket partnership of 16.
Owen has a high score of just 18 from his seven Phoenix innings this summer and his plight has rather summed up that of his team.
The most likely alternative to Owen is a recall for Smeed at the top of the order, but with a run of 5, 6 and 9 from his last three innings he is also not a man in form.
With the reliable James Vince and Will Jacks opening up for MI London, the visitors have an excellent chance of outscoring their hosts for the opening wicket.
Birmingham Phoenix v MI London Bet Builder Tip
Richard Gleeson to take 1+ wicket
Will Jacks to score 30+ runs
Sam Curran to score 20+ runs
Pays 5/1
Tournament top bowler Richard Gleeson has taken at least one wicket in all seven matches he has played for MI London this summer and against the weakest side in the tournament, the seamer will fancy his chances of continuing that run.
Will Jacks has been in superb form this summer and is the men's Hundred sixth-leading runscorer with 252 from seven innings, averaging 36.
He has only failed to score more than 30 runs in one of his last five knocks and looks a good shout to rack the runs up against a Phoenix side with nothing to play for.
Sam Curran is another MI London player in fine form. The captain's lowest score in his last four outings is 23 and he has averaged 43.60 from his six innings this summer.
With MI expected to dominate this clash, backing a three-fold made up entirely of visiting players appeals in this fixture.
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Key Match Stats
MI London are reigning champions in the men’s Hundred and have won the last three titles
Birmingham Phoenix have won four of the last five meetings between the pair.
Will Jacks is MI London's leading run scorer this summer with 252 runs
Richard Gleeson is the tournament's top wicket-taker with 12 in seven matches
Joe Clarke leads the way with the bat for Birmingham Phoenix with 290 runs
Usman Tariq is Birmingham Phoenix's top wicket-taker this summer with six in seven matches
Tactics, Form & Team News
Bar the opening match of the tournament, Birmingham Phoenix have struggled this season, losing their last six matches.
Last time out, opener Smeed was dropped in favour of promoted Clarke to open and Clarke is likely to retain his spot given he smashed 73 last time out.
Owen's spot may be in danger, with Smeed perhaps coming back into the side to replace the Australian.
Expected Birmingham Phoenix XI: Joe Clarke (wk), Will Smeed, Joe Weatherley, Laurie Evans, Rehan Ahmed, Sean Dickson, Donovan Ferreira (c), Jordan Thompson, Tom Helm, Saqib Mahmood, Usman Tariq.
MI London lost their last match against table-toppers Trent Rockets and retired out Ollie Pope for scoring too slowly in the defeat.
Pope's humiliating exit from the game could see the England batter replaced in the starting XI for this clash, or at the very least dropped down the order.
Expected MI London XI: Will Jacks, James Vince, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sam Curran (c), Sikandar Raza, Sherfane Rutherford, Tom Curran, Ollie Pope, Nathan Sowter, Richard Gleeson, Trent Boult.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
