Southern Brave picked up their first victory of the men's Hundred season, defending 128 to beat Birmingham Phoenix by 12 runs at the Utilita Bowl. The result lifted Brave off the bottom of the table. BBC Sport

Brave's total of 128 was modest by most standards. The Hundred — cricket's 100-ball-per-side format — can produce fireworks, but this was a surface on which runs came hard. Defending such a total demands discipline with the ball and sharpness in the field. Brave delivered on both counts.

The defining passage came via a team hat-trick — three wickets falling on consecutive deliveries, each taken by a different bowler. Wickets spread across the bowlers' card still count as a hat-trick in the record books, and the effect on Phoenix's chase was the same as any other: momentum swung hard. The Hundred

From there, the required rate — the pace of scoring Phoenix needed to reach the target — climbed steadily. In a 100-ball innings there is little room to absorb pressure and rebuild. Every dot ball tightens the screws. Phoenix fell 12 short, finishing on 116.

For Brave, the timing mattered as much as the result. A first win scratches a slow start off the ledger and shifts the standings. Moving off the foot of the table changes the complexion of the weeks ahead, even if the gap to the top remains significant.

For Phoenix, a chase that should have been gettable slipped away in the space of those three deliveries. The batting order will look back on the hat-trick sequence as the moment the game turned.

The Hundred's condensed format means every ball carries weight, and a total of 128 that looked within reach became a mountain once wickets fell in a cluster. Brave's bowlers did not need a massive total — they needed one burst of brilliance, and the team hat-trick delivered exactly that. BBC Sport