Southern Brave vs Birmingham Phoenix Prediction: Livingstone to top the sixes chart

Brave come into Sunday's clash after a thrilling victory over the Originals, while the Phoenix are licking their wounds after a heavy defeat at home to the Rockets. 

Dan Thomas takes a look at the state of play and brings us his best bets for the 14:30 match, live on Sky Sports, as he brings us his Southern Brave vs Birmingham Phoenix predictions… 

*You can check out all of our Cricket Odds over at betfred.com

Brave off to a flyer 

Southern Brave delivered an exhilarating win in their opener at Manchester Originals, narrowly clinching victory in a tense finish. Chasing 132, the Brave's tailenders kept their nerve under pressure, sealing a one-wicket win as Reece Topley hit a four off the penultimate ball. 

The standout star was Tymal Mills, who tormented the Originals' batting with a three-wicket haul, while Jason Roy provided a rapid start at the top with 30 on debut. 

Jofra Archer may well come into the side for this one after sitting out the first game following the India Test series. 

Phoenix yet to flame

Birmingham Phoenix are under pressure after a disappointing start, succumbing to a heavy defeat against the Trent Rockets. Batting first, the Phoenix top order collapsed to 26-4 after just 30 balls, with Ben Duckett, Will Smeed, and Aneurin Donald all dismissed cheaply.  

Captain Liam Livingstone tried to regroup with a hard-fought 39, but a disciplined Rockets bowling attack, led by Lockie Ferguson (3-20), prevented any real momentum. Despite a late rally that inched them to a modest 122-6, it was never enough, and the Rockets overhauled the target with 22 balls to spare in emphatic fashion, spearheaded by Tom Banton.  

Pitch and conditions 

The Utilita Bowl pitch tends to be on the slower side, offering grip to the bowlers, and scoring can be difficult. The average score in Southampton since the Hundred began is 146 and 140 was only passed once in last year's tournament. The weather is set fair, with plenty of sunshine and temperatures expected to reach 25c.  

Key odds 

Brave are the 4/5 favourites for the win, with Phoenix rated an even money chance. While the hosts are the more likely winners, they collapsed alarmingly in the middle order at Old Trafford and the Birmingham attack may fancy its chances of keeping them to a low score.  

On the batting front, Vince remains the clear favourite to top score for the hosts at 13/5 despite scoring just six in the opener. Roy will have his backers at 4/1 to repeat his top scoring efforts from last time out, with James Coles a 9/2 shot. For the Phoenix, Duckett is the 10/3 favourite, with Smeed rated a 4/1 chance and Livingstone still as big as 9/2.  

As for the bowlers, Archer has been chalked up as a 14/5 favourite to take the most wickets for Brave, with Mills a 4/1 shot. Phoenix's Kiwi trio of Trent Boult, Adam Milne and Tim Southee head the market for the visitors at 14/5, 10/3 and 3/1 respectively 

*You can check out all the latest and live Southern Brave vs Birmingham Phoenix Odds over on betfred.com

Best Bets 

I was surprised to see Phoenix as favourites in the Highest Opening Partnership market after both Duckett and Smeed were knocked over so quickly against the Rockets. Vince remains one of the best players in the competition and I will back the Brave skipper and opening partner Leus de Plooy to outscore their Phoenix counterparts at 10/11.  

I'll also dip into the #PickYourPunt specials and take the 5/2 on Livingstone to be Clear Top Birmingham Phoenix Six Hitter. He cleared the ropes three times at Edgbaston with no other player hitting more than one maximum.  

Dan Thomas 2025 Cricket P/L:

• Staked: 4.5pts 
• Returned: 2.1pts 
• P/L: -2.4pts 

*P/L from before Saturday's matches