The Welsh Fire men’s team secured a six-wicket victory against Southern Brave in The Hundred competition at the Utilita Bowl in Southampton. Captain Phil Salt played a key role, scoring an unbeaten 47 runs.
Salt, who is The Hundred‘s all-time leading scorer with 1,138 runs from five seasons with Manchester Originals, joined Fire as captain for this year’s competition. His aim is to lead the Welsh franchise to their first title, following their last-place finish in both the men’s and women’s tables last season.
Chasing a target of 136, Salt provided support early on as fellow opener Matt Short contributed 20 runs. Salt then maintained the chase through partnerships with Joe Root, who scored 14, and Rachin Ravindra, who added 24.
With nine runs needed from the final five balls, Asa Tribe hit a boundary off Brave captain Chris Jordan‘s first delivery. Salt then sealed the win with a six two balls later.
Earlier in the match, Southern Brave batted first and posted a total of 135-7. Openers Jamie Smith and Ben McKinney were dismissed for single figures. However, 18-year-old Thomas Rew helped rebuild the innings with 41 runs from 30 balls.
Fire‘s bowlers, led by Marco Jansen who took 2-17, managed to control the scoring rate for much of the innings. David Miller, despite a slow start, finished strongly for Brave with 44 runs from 35 balls before being dismissed on the penultimate delivery.
Southern Brave women secure victory
In the women’s competition, Southern Brave achieved an eight-run victory against Welsh Fire Women, also at the Utilita Bowl. Brave captain Sophie Molineux was a standout performer, taking three wickets.
The 2025 Hundred finalists, Southern Brave, set Welsh Fire a target of 127 runs. Laura Wolvaardt was a key contributor with the bat for Brave, scoring an unbeaten 45 runs from 36 deliveries. For Fire, Heather Graham recorded bowling figures of 4-19.
Welsh Fire initially appeared to be in control of their chase, largely due to a strong innings from Georgia Voll, who scored 52 runs from 39 deliveries. Freya Kemp further added 39 runs before being run out by Jemimah Rodrigues.
Despite some fielding errors, including seven dropped catches, Southern Brave managed to turn the game around. Molineux, along with England‘s Lauren Bell, helped restrict Welsh Fire to 118 runs for eight wickets by the end of their innings.
Molineux, who also scored 22 runs from 16 balls in the first innings, discussed the team’s resilience. She emphasized the importance of staying calm and holding their nerve during challenging moments in the game.
Key wickets fell rapidly towards the end of Fire‘s innings. Molineux dismissed Sophie Devine, and Tilly Corteen-Coleman ended Voll‘s innings. Issy Wong caught Georgia Wareham off a Lauren Bell delivery, and Bell then took her second wicket by knocking over Em Arlott‘s stumps, leaving Fire needing 16 runs from 11 deliveries.
Bell highlighted the dismissal of Devine as a critical turning point. She noted that once they secured one wicket, more followed, allowing them to demonstrate their ability to perform under pressure. Molineux then snared Niamh Holland, and Corteen-Coleman bowled Heather Graham, concluding Welsh Fire‘s innings at 118 runs.
Upcoming fixtures
The next matches in The Hundred are scheduled for Thursday at Lord’s in London. London Spirit will face Manchester Super Giants.
The women’s game is set to begin at 14:45 BST, followed by the men’s match at 18:30 BST.
These fixtures will be available for ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website and app, as well as live on Sky Sports and YouTube.
Source: bbc.co.uk