A superb unbeaten half-century from Matt Short guided Welsh Fire to a six-wicket victory over Southern Brave that takes them level on points at the top The Hundred table.
With both sides still in the hunt for a qualification place and coming off the back of morale-boosting victories, it was the Fire who took the honours in Cardiff to join Trent Rockets on 16 points at the summit of the table.
Opting to bowl, Fire’s battery of experienced seamers were immediately into the action, Chris Woakes and Sam Cook reducing the Brave to 2-2 off seven balls as Jamie Smith and Ben McKinney both edged behind to Phil Salt.
The Cook-Salt combo also accounted for Nikhil Chaudhary after he and Marcus Stoinis had sedately taken the visitors to an underwhelming 45-3 at the halfway stage.
Not long after, Rachin Ravindra, getting big turn, snared Tristan Stubbs and Moeen Ali with successive deliveries, the latter caught by Joe Root off a skier.
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The Brave were chugging along at barely a run a ball on a tricky surface but Stoinis added some muscular impetus, going to a 35-ball half-century before hitting Cook, who returned a magnificent 3-14, down deep square’s throat.
David Miller hit a couple of late sixes but Short, coming on to bowl for the first time in the final five of the innings, had him caught on the edge.
Jofra Archer hit a first-ball six but was gone second ball and the Brave ended with 115-8, their lowest-ever total in The Hundred, below their 118-8 against the Oval Invincibles in 2024.
With little margin for error, Archer set the tone for the Fire, delighting in getting Phil Salt with his first ball and not conceding a run until his eighth.
But Short and Root kept things moving, knowing that one or two partnerships would be enough, and calmly took the score to 60 off 48 before Root departed, caught by McKinney off Chris Jordan.
Ravindra and Jordan Cox came and went but Tom Kohler-Cadmore kept the scoreboard ticking over as he supported Short – who reached a 37-ball 50 with a scoop off Archer and made good use of the ramp throughout to the short straight boundaries – to see his side home, an anticlimactic two wides finishing things.
Matt Short (left) and Tom Kohler-Cadmore saw Welsh Fire to victory over the Southern Brave
Match Hero Matt Short said: “It was tough early and it was a pretty spicy wicket with some quick bowlers. It was nice to bat second and get a bit of dew and skid off the wicket.
“They came hard with a Test match length but the shine wears off and it gets a bit easier. When we bowled, our guys hit the right length and let the ball do the talking.”
Despite having won four of their five games, the Fire have a negative net run rate of -0.081, while leaders Trent Rockets are on +0.760.
The Brave, who have now played more matches than any other side in the men’s tournament, fell to a fourth defeat in six and are facing a battle to advance.
What’s next in The Hundred?
The Hundred continues on Tuesday with SunRisers Leeds hosting London Spirit at Headingley. The women’s fixture begins at 3pm, with the men’s contest following at 6.30pm.
Watch every match of The Hundred through to the finals on Sunday, August 16. Watch The Hundred and more contract-free on NOW