Welsh Fire earned a 7-wicket victory over Birmingham Phoenix with four balls to spare at Edgbaston, anchored by an ice-cool half-century from newly reappointed England Test captain Joe Root, all while Phoenix investor and football superstar Jude Bellingham watched from the stands. Root's Composed Chase: Promoted to open in place of Matt Short, Joe Root struck an unbeaten 58 off 44 balls, sealing the match with a reverse-scoop boundary off Saqib Mahmood and a single. Opening Stand: Root and Phil Salt (46 off 36 balls) set the platform with a 77-run opening partnership to put Welsh Fire ahead of the required rate early. Tight Phoenix Bowling: Despite losing, Birmingham Phoenix fought hard in the field, with Pakistan mystery spinner Usman Tariq putting on a squeeze during the middle overs. Phoenix Batter Struggles: Sent in to bat, Phoenix could only manage 137/9. Joe Clarke top-scored with 35, while Lockie Ferguson (2-20) and Marco Jansen (2-21) led a disciplined Welsh Fire bowling display. "That's how you want to play cricket, being ruthless and getting it done at the end," Root said. "We've got a lot of depth in different areas, a lot of bases covered and good variety in our attack. "We've also got a good understanding of how we want to chase down totals, and if we can find a way to make Cardiff a very difficult place to come and play in particular, then it will go a long way to ensuring we get through to the back-end of the tournament." 77-Run Opening Stand: Promoted to open due to Matt Short's injury, Joe Root paired with Phil Salt (46 off 36), who was reprieved on 4 after a Saqib Mahmood no-ball and went on to hit four sixes. Ravindra Stumbles: Rachin Ravindra struggled to find timing on a difficult surface before holing out off Chris Wood to leave Welsh Fire needing 42 runs off 31 balls. Cox's Finishing Touch: Jordan Cox came in, navigated a tough spell against Pakistan mystery spinner Usman Tariq, and struck a quickfire 20 to push Fire towards the target. Fielding & Phoenix Wobble: Earlier, Cox set up Welsh Fire's effort by taking two brilliant self-relay catches to dismiss Owen (18) and top-scorer Joe Clarke (35). Rehan Ahmed showed brief intent but was involved in two costly run-out mix-ups that derailed the Birmingham Phoenix innings. The Phoenix have now lost three matches in a row, and will likely need to win their remaining four matches to qualify for the knockout stages.