· 7 min read · Editorial desk
Southern Brave take on Birmingham Phoenix in Match 13 of the Men's Hundred 2026 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton, on 30 July 2026, with the first ball scheduled for 11:00 PM IST. The Brave have lost their first three matches; Birmingham Phoenix arrive at 1-1, with their previous outing ending in defeat to Manchester Super Giants. With both sides needing points to climb the table, the toss, the conditions and the captaincy choices carry extra weight — especially on a Rose Bowl surface that has consistently rewarded batters who commit early and bowlers who nail their yorker lengths.
The captaincy conversation this week is unusually crowded. Marcus Stoinis, Jamie Smith, Joe Clarke and Rehan Ahmed are the four names dominating the projections, and our reading of the brief window of form and the venue matchup splits them into two clean pairings rather than one. Below is the desk's read on the lineups, the pitch, the weather, the captain calls and two ready-made Dream11 combinations you can drop straight into a contest.
Pre-match, both franchises have signalled they will treat Match 13 as a must-win rather than rotate. The desk's predicted XIs follow the latest squad and injury notes reported by the clubs and verified across the league's official feeds.
Jordan continues to lead the side after three defeats. Archer's workload through the powerplay remains the key tactical lever.
Ferreira keeps the captain's armband. Clarke's role at the top of the order is the most-watched fantasy input on the Phoenix side.
The Brave's batting depth is the league's best on paper but has not translated into results yet. Stubbs at five and Miller at four give Chris Jordan two right-hand options against the Phoenix spinners. The Phoenix, by contrast, lean harder on their top three to set a platform — if Clarke and Smeed click early, the contest is effectively over before Stoinis comes on.
Projected captain points are tightly bunched at the top, which is why the desk recommends running two Dream11 teams rather than one — one anchored on the Brave, one on the Phoenix, each carrying a different captain/vice-captain combo.
| Player | Team | Role | Why the pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marcus Stoinis | SOB | All-rounder | 4 wickets and 36 runs in the opening matches — points scored in both innings. |
| Jamie Smith | SOB | WK-batter | Top of the order against a Phoenix attack that bowls hard in the powerplay. |
| Joe Clarke | BPH | WK-batter | Set-and-forget vice-captain pick — keeper credit, runs, and a chase role. |
| Rehan Ahmed | BPH | Batter | The Phoenix's highest-impact middle-overs batter — best ceiling on the side. |
Stoinis is the captain pick if you want one name across both teams. He bowls a couple of overs, bats in the top six and carries a multiplier that reflects his all-rounder credit. Clarke is the cleanest vice-captain anywhere on either side — his baseline keeper credit means he returns a non-zero points floor even when he fails. Smith is the strongest Brave-only captain; he faces the most Phoenix deliveries in the powerplay. Ahmed is the Phoenix upside play; his ceiling is higher than his floor.
Both teams use the same 100-credit budget. Run one or both, depending on how many contests you want to enter. The splits differ by role, and so does the captain/vice-captain tag — Team 1 leans Brave, Team 2 leans Phoenix.
| Role | Players |
|---|---|
| WK (3) | Joe Clarke (vc), Jamie Smith, Donovan Ferreira |
| BAT (3) | Will Smeed, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs |
| AR (3) | Marcus Stoinis (c), Rehan Ahmed, Mitchell Owen |
| BOWL (2) | Adil Rashid, Ben Dwarshuis |
C/VC: Stoinis (c), Clarke (vc). Split 3-3-3-2.
| Role | Players |
|---|---|
| WK (3) | Jamie Smith (vc), Joe Clarke, Donovan Ferreira |
| BAT (3) | Will Smeed, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs |
| AR (3) | Rehan Ahmed (c), Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Owen |
| BOWL (2) | Chris Jordan, Scott Currie |
C/VC: Ahmed (c), Smith (vc). Split 3-3-3-2.
The two teams differ in two places — the captain/vice-captain tag, and the bowling pair. Team 1 backs Rashid and Dwarshuis to take advantage of a slow pitch if the Brave bat first; Team 2 backs Jordan's death overs and Currie's wicket-to-wicket lines if Phoenix chase. Both are defensible. Pick the team that matches your read on the toss.
The Rose Bowl has been a reliable batting venue in recent Hundred seasons, and the brief forecast does not change that read.
The pitch is described as batting-friendly, with an average first-innings score of 155 and pace bowlers generally finding more assistance than spinners through the middle overs. There is no significant rain threat, so a full 100-ball contest is expected. Our read: the team that wins the toss and chases is the slight favourite, but the edge is small enough that it should not change your captain pick.
A 155-run first innings puts both Stoinis and Clarke in the high-projection band. If you are running a third team, a chase-led XI with Clarke as captain is the cleanest hedge.
The two sides have met seven times in The Hundred, with Southern Brave holding a 5-2 lead.
| Side | Wins | Losses | Last meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Brave | 5 | 2 | 2025 · Brave won |
| Birmingham Phoenix | 2 | 5 | 2025 · Brave won |
The 5-2 ledger favours the Brave, but form says otherwise — three straight defeats to start 2026 against a Phoenix side that pushed Manchester Super Giants hard in their last match. The head-to-head is a useful sanity check, not a deciding input.
Both Tom Abell and Tom Helm carry NA credits from the previous match and posted NA points in the prior outing — which on Dream11's rules means they will eat your budget without a guaranteed floor.
Cheap option but no points from the previous match and uncertain role in Match 13.
Bowling credit not yet priced in — drop him in favour of Rashid or Dwarshuis.
If you are running a long-tail combination that needs a 7-credit bowler, Usman Tariq is the cheaper alternative with a confirmed spot in the Phoenix XI.
Three inputs decide this contest — the powerplay, the Rashid over, and the death yorker. Two of them point to the Brave.
Archer, Jordan and Worrall make the Brave's powerplay the most hostile of the season. If Phoenix lose Clarke or Smeed in the first 25 balls, the contest tilts before the spinners come on. The Brave's powerplay economy has been their quiet strength even in three defeats — Fantasy players who back Jordan for his wicket points are likely to be rewarded before the captaincy multipliers are even applied.
Adil Rashid against the Phoenix left-handers is the single most predictable wicket window in the contest. Two of Rashid's three overs will come against Ferreira, Clarke and Evans — exactly the players Phoenix most need to bat through. The Brave's win probability rises meaningfully if Rashid takes one in his first set.
The Hundred rewards dot balls in the final 10 balls more than almost any other format. Jordan, Mahmood and Worrall are the three death bowlers most likely to land six-plus dots in the closing set. Pick one of them in your XI; pick two if your budget allows.
The desk's predicted winner is Southern Brave, with the caveat that three straight defeats make this the least confident pick the desk has published this season.
The reasoning is straightforward. The Brave's squad is, on paper, the strongest in the league. Their powerplay is the best. Rashid gives them a matchup advantage against the Phoenix left-handers that no other side has. And the head-to-head ledger — 5-2 — does not evaporate after three bad weeks. The Phoenix have a clearer path to a win if Ferreira and Clarke combine for a 100-plus opening stand; the Brave have a clearer path if Rashid and Archer take early wickets.
For fantasy purposes, the predicted winner matters less than the captaincy call. Our captain pick — Stoinis — holds up under either result, because his points come from both innings. If you are running a single team and you want the cleanest possible projection, anchor on Stoinis and use Clarke as vice-captain. That combination is the desk's recommended lineup for one team.
The first ball is scheduled for 11:00 PM IST on 30 July 2026 at The Rose Bowl, Southampton. The match is Match 13 of the Men's Hundred 2026.
The desk's recommended captain is Marcus Stoinis (SOB) for his all-rounder points in both innings. Joe Clarke (BPH) is the cleanest vice-captain — keeper credit, top-order runs. If you want a Brave-only captain, Jamie Smith is the alternative. If you want a Phoenix-only captain, Rehan Ahmed is the upside play.
The desk's predicted winner is Southern Brave, citing their squad composition, the Rashid matchup and the 5-2 head-to-head ledger. Three straight defeats make this the desk's least-confident pick of the season — Phoenix have a clear path through Ferreira and Clarke.
The Rose Bowl has been batting-friendly in recent Hundred seasons, with an average first-innings score around 155. Pace bowlers find more assistance than spinners through the middle overs. Chasing sides have won 56% of matches at the venue across the last two seasons.
Tom Abell and Tom Helm — both carry NA credits and posted NA points in the previous match, which means they will eat your budget without a guaranteed floor. Usman Tariq is the cheaper 7-credit alternative with a confirmed spot in the Phoenix XI.
This article is editorial match coverage adapted for fantasy players. The predicted XIs and Dream11 combinations are the desk's read on the pre-match notes published by the clubs and verified across the league's official feeds. Final XIs are confirmed at the toss — verify the lineup inside the IPL Super Contest app before locking your team.
The Men's Hundred 2026 is a 100-ball cricket tournament operated by The Hundred. Fantasy contests on the Men's Hundred are skill-based games of strategy. State-level rules apply — paid contests are not available in every Indian state, and the IPL Super Contest app enforces state eligibility on every login. Read the responsible play policy and verify current terms on the official app before playing.