NICK HOWSON: Kane Richardson, Tom Helm and Moeen Ali combine as the south London franchise are beaten on home turf for just the second time
It was painted all over the faces of Birmingham Phoenix players speaking after beating an Oval Invincibles side who often live up to their name at home, just big this was.
Sam Billings' side have only lost one of their previous seven at home and that was a three-run reverse against London Spirit in their opening game of the 2022 tournament.
With 66 needed from 25 balls to chase a target of 167 that Phoenix themselves felt was under par, the Curran brothers put down the hammer with 19 and 15 runs off the 16th and 17th sets.
Though both departed, a six and four from Mohammad Hasnain kept them in contention heading into the closing deliveries, until Benny Howell came good with a slower ball and a yorker to see out the victory.
Key to the victory was Moeen Ali's bowling changes, bringing back Kane Richardson for balls 71 to 75 - he took two wickets and conceded four runs - and then deploying Tom Helm for the 18th set who bettered that return with two wickets for just one run.
"It's always nice to win," said player of the match Richardson. "That's a tough ground to defend on, to be honest.
"The feedback at the halfway point was there was plenty of pace and bounce in the wicket. The way we shut it down at the end when they were coming pretty hard was (good).
Tom Helm produced an inspired set to underline victory (Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
"Tom Helm restricted it and I was happy to cash in at the end so it was nice.
"That over he was class, to be honest, both Curran brothers are coming and to get them out in the space of a set, he should probably be standing here, to be honest.
"We hung in there when they were coming hard as we knew they would so it was a great win.
"I was just using the dimensions of the field, that boundary on the otherwise is quite big. You do the best you can. Sometimes it pays off but they're a team that just keeps coming, and we knew they would."
The significance of the victory is not lost on Phoenix. They now sit in third, two points above Manchester Originals and Invincibles after six matches.
While Originals have lost Jos Buttler to injury and Andre Russell to the Caribbean Premier League, Invincibles are losing Sunil Narine, Hasnain and Reece Topley, who has withdrawn to preserve his fitness.
"To get a win at this stage of the season when the teams are so close together is massive," added Australian seamer Richardson, who is available for the duration of the competition.
Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone (David Rogers/Getty Images)
"We know we're going to be pretty hard to beat at home because it is just a good place to play and the crowd really lifts us. We've got to two to go and they're going to be massive. Destiny is in our hands."
Moeen, who will lose Imran Tahir after the Originals match, and Liam Livingstone had earlier put on 61 in 44 balls for the third wicket, hitting four sixes each.
But it was the former's captaincy in the field, which he largely owed to instinct, that represented his great contribution. This was the third victory batting first for Phoenix, after defending 176 against Southern Brave and 130 against Welsh Fire.
"You have some sort of plan but a lot of the time it is gut feel," he told Sky Sports. "You try and see who is the best bowler to bowl at that time and you do get it wrong.
"Once you accept you are going to get it wrong then you're ok with it. There were a few I did get wrong tonight but it works out well.
"When you have games like that and you defend once, twice or three times it gives you a lot of confidence going forward.
"The bowlers get more confidence which is good and those are the kind of wins you want under your belt."
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