It feels pretty good to be crowned Hundred champions, says Vince
James Vince always suspected Southern Brave would be able to withstand a whirlwind innings from Liam Livingstone as they became the first men's champions in The Hundred after defeating Birmingham Phoenix in the final.
Theinauguraleditionofthe 100-ball competition went out withathriller,asPaulStirling's aggressive 61 from 36 deliveries allied to Ross Whiteley's 44 off only 19 propelled the Brave to 168 for five at a packed-out Lord's.
Livingstone was the obvious danger in the chase, having ushered the Phoenix into the final with 92 not out from 40 balls earlier in the week, while last month he registered the fastest international century by an England batsman.
He threatened to play the decisive hand here as well, crashing four sixes and as many fours in a captivating 19-ball 46, only to be short of his crease coming back for a second run following Tim David'sthrowfromtheboundary.
Havingshared55in25balls alongsideMoeenAli,whomade 36off30beforeholingoutlater on, Livingstone's downfall was ultimately the game's defining momentasthePhoenixranout ofsteamtofinishon136forfive.
Brave captain Vince said: "It helped that we were bowlingsecondandhadrunsonthe board because we knew Liam and Mo had to sustain the hitting for a long period of time.
"AsgoodaformasLiamisin, wealwaysfeltwewereonlyone wicket away. They had to keep going so we were going to get opportunities. Then the partnership got broken in a fairly unusual way with a great bit of fielding.
"It feels pretty good to be crowned champions. Ross Whiteley whenever he's been calleduponhasbeenoutstanding. I think he changed the game from looking at 140 to suddenly 160-odd - that made a massive difference."
Despite his disappointment in defeat, Phoenix captain Moeen accepted his side were second best.
"I thought the better team won, I thought in all three assets they were better than us," he said. "We didn't have a lot go our way, they caught some fantastic catches, the run out of Livi was massive.
"His confidence is only gettingmoreandmore,andIthink the way he's playing is right up there with the best players in the world at the moment. I know it's domestic cricket and he's done it for England as well now, he's getting more consistentandIthinkhe'sgoingtowin a lot more games for England going forward. In the World Cup, I'm sure he'll be there."