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Marcus Stoinis hit back-to-back sixes off Scott Currie — the second travelling 98 metres — en route to his 34 and then took 2 for 16 as Southern Brave beat Birmingham Phoenix by 12 runs at The Rose Bowl in Match 13 of The Hundred Men’s 2026, earning their first win of the competition after three straight defeats. Five wickets in 30 balls derailed a Phoenix chase that had reached 52 for 1.
On a night when 128 looked around 15 short of a defendable total, Southern Brave’s bowlers proved otherwise — Stoinis squeezing the life out of the middle overs, Archer delivering a stunning five-ball set, Wood and Rashid finishing the job with late wickets and a brilliant run-out. Phoenix had the chase in their hands at 52 for 1. Then they lost five wickets in 30 balls.
Southampton, England: Southern Brave Men came into Thursday’s night fixture at the Utilita Bowl having lost each of their first three matches of The Hundred Men’s 2026 — three games, three defeats, seventh place in an eight-team competition. Birmingham Phoenix, their opponents, were not much better placed. Something had to give. What gave was Phoenix’s middle order, and with it their best chance of a first win of the campaign.
Southern Brave finally have their first win of the competition. Marcus Stoinis was the reason — twice over.
98 Metres and a Spectacular Catch
Invited to bat first, Brave never quite found the fluency their situation demanded. The innings stuttered through its middle phase before Stoinis provided the rescue act, depositing Scott Currie for back-to-back sixes — the second carrying a measured 98 metres — in a burst that gave the total both substance and a scoreboard presence that the bowling attack could work with. He reached 34 from 26 balls before falling to one of the catches of the tournament: Donovan Ferreira, the Phoenix skipper, diving full-length at short cover to cling on to an edge with the kind of reflexes that belonged more in a slip cordon than the fifty-ball format.
It was a brilliant dismissal. It ended Stoinis’ contribution with the bat. It did not end his contribution to the match.
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Brave finished at 128 for 8 — a total that looked thin on first inspection but one that, as Stoinis said afterwards, played differently to how it read. “On the other foot, you know how to bowl on it. On a wicket like this, it’s about subtle changes of pace and staying consistent.”
52 for 1 Became 65 for 4
Birmingham Phoenix began their chase the stronger side. Joe Clarke and Will Smeed moved confidently to 52 for 1 at the halfway point, the equation looking routine. With Smeed — the most composed Phoenix batter on the night — finding the gaps and the asking rate under control, the dressing room would have felt this was theirs to win.
Then the collapse arrived, sudden and comprehensive, in the space of 30 balls.
Smeed was caught at long-on attempting to clear Luke Wood into the bleachers — a big shot that didn’t come off, ending a measured 35 from 28 balls that deserved to be on the winning side. Rehan Ahmed, having just scooped Chris Jordan for six, miscued the very next ball into the deep where Jofra Archer tracked it down from long-on — the casual certainty of a fielder who had already decided he was going to catch it. And Ferreira, arriving to steady things, was clean bowled by Archer hoicking across the line. Phoenix were 65 for 4. Sixty-four needed from 39 balls.
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Stoinis returned with the ball and bowled 10 consecutive balls for just three runs, the pressure suffocating, before inducing an edge from Laurie Evans. Adil Rashid bowled Mitchell Owen through the under-edge. Five wickets in 30 balls. The match had turned completely.
Archer Closes, Rashid Executes
With 15 balls remaining, the game was still mathematically alive — a statement that felt more generous than the situation warranted. Archer bowled a five-ball set of such controlled aggression that it yielded a single run, stretching the equation to 29 needed from the final 10. Sean Dickson planted Jordan for two sixes in the penultimate set, briefly reigniting the crowd. Then Wood held his nerve in the final set, claiming two wickets, while Rashid — who had been so accurate throughout — executed a brilliant direct-hit run-out to close proceedings. Phoenix finished at 116 for 9. Brave won by 12.
Stoinis captured what the evening had required. “We needed that! Batting first it’s hard to know what a good score is, even though you feel like it might not be the best wicket, it’s still hard to convince yourself to play in a certain way.”
Alive Again
For Southern Brave Men, the win injects life into a campaign that had begun to look terminal after three consecutive defeats. Both teams sit at the bottom of The Hundred Men’s standings after four games, but Brave have now put points on the board. Their bowling attack — Archer, Jordan, Wood, Stoinis, Rashid — has the firepower to defend totals; Thursday confirmed they can do it on a surface that does not lend itself to easy scoring.
For Phoenix, it is the third match of this competition in which a middle-order implosion has cost them. Five wickets in 30 balls against a modest total is not an outlier — it is a pattern. They will need to find a way through it quickly.
Scores: Southern Brave Men 128/8 (100 balls) — Marcus Stoinis 34 (26); Rehan Ahmed 3/25
Birmingham Phoenix Men 116/9 (100 balls) — Will Smeed 35 (28); Luke Wood 3/24, Marcus Stoinis 2-16
Result: Southern Brave Men won by 12 runs
Player of the Match: Marcus Stoinis (Southern Brave Men) — 34 (26) & 2-16
Key passage: Phoenix lose 5 wickets in 30 balls, from 52-1 to 65-4 and beyond
