3 Birmingham Phoenix Players who could end up with most wickets in The Hundred Men’s Competition 2021

In what looks set to be a high-scoring inaugural edition of The Hundred, starting July 22, Birmingham Phoenix will enter with a competent bowling line-up. The Phoenix’s attack includes Adam Mile, Imran Tahir, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes among others, with Moeen and Woakes also offering them decent batting abilities.

Since UK has seen some of the best batting surfaces in white-ball cricket in the last five years, it’s these gents on whom Birmingham Phoenix’s fortunes will largely depend throughout the maiden 100-ball competition.

They’ll be required to not only keep the run-flow in check but also chip in with regular breakthroughs to ensure their team comes out triumphant against lengthy batting units that most of their oppositions possess. The bowling attack will play a decisive role throughout the Birmingham Phoenix campaign.

With bowlers in attention now, here are the potential few names who could prove to be the most exceptional exponents of spin or seam bowling in the new format of the game and end at the top of the wickets chart in The Hundred from Phoenix’s camp.

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Moeen Ali could prove to be Birmingham Phoenix’s darkhorse with the ball.

Birmingham Phoenix bowlers who could be in race to become The Hundred’s highest wicket-taker

1. Adam Mile

Express pace delivered from very high release points and pitched at hard, defensive lengths is a combination that makes a huge difference in T20 cricket and is expected to be one of the more successful ploys with the ball even in the 100-ball format. Adam Milne, being one of the fine exponents of this ploy, could thus be an excellent inclusion for Birmingham Phoenix.

Milne has an impressive T20I record for New Zealand to his name, with 28 scalps from 23 matches at an economy rate of 7.69. In his three outings in the T20 Blast this season for Kent, Milne has taken 6 wickets while conceding a respectable 7.81 runs per over.

2. Imran Tahir

Though retired from Tests and ODIs, Imran Tahir could still enjoy a backdoor entry into South Africa’s T20I squad ahead of the T20 World Cup, providing he is willing. And Tahir will know, if he has a great stint with the Birmingham Phoenix, it would go a long way in getting back in the selectors’ reckoning for the second spinner’s slot in the UAE alongside in-form Tabraiz Shamsi.

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Despite entering his forties, Tahir remain a regular feature in the leagues around the world, including the IPL. Tahir has bagged 63 wickets from his 38 T20Is for South Africa at an economy rate of just 6.73. In his overall T20 record, he has taken a whopping 397 wickets while going for just 6.94 runs per over. Tahir also took 13 wickets from his 7 outings in the recently concluded PSL 2021.

3. Moeen Ali

A darkhorse candidate for the numero uno spot in the bowling chart could be Moeen Ali. The off-spinner has been out of favour in T20I cricket with England but is a proven impactful all-round cricketer at his best. Not being given a regular spot has had a negative influence on Moeen’s T20I numbers with England as the off-spinner has an economy rate of 8.53 after 31 innings.

But the Warwickshire cricketer has a better overall T20 record to his name, with 120 scalps at an average of 26.05 and economy rate of 7.59. Knowing that he is a guaranteed starter for Birmingham Phoenix could well bring out the best from Moeen, who isn’t an easy bowler to line up, especially when the powerplay restrictions are over.