Salt Leads Welsh Fire to Victory
Welsh Fire began their 2026 Hundred season with a six-wicket win against Southern Brave in Southampton. Captain Phil Salt played a key role, scoring an unbeaten 47 runs from 37 balls. This performance helped his team successfully chase down the target set by Southern Brave.
Salt, who is the Hundred’s all-time leading scorer with 1,138 runs from five seasons with Manchester Originals, joined Welsh Fire as captain for this year’s competition. His aim is to guide the Welsh franchise to their first-ever title, following a season where both their men’s and women’s teams finished at the bottom of their respective tables.
Chasing a target of 136 runs, Salt initially supported fellow opener Matt Short, who contributed a quick 20 runs. Salt then maintained the chase through partnerships with Joe Root, who scored 14 runs, and Rachin Ravindra, who added 24 runs. With nine runs needed from the final five balls, Asa Tribe hit a boundary off Brave captain Chris Jordan’s first delivery, and Salt secured the victory with a six two balls later.
Brave’s Innings and Bowling Efforts
Batting first, Southern Brave faced an early setback, losing openers Jamie Smith and Ben McKinney for single-digit scores. However, 18-year-old Thomas Rew helped rebuild the innings with a rapid 41 runs from 30 balls. David Miller also contributed significantly, finishing strongly with 44 runs from 35 balls before being dismissed on the penultimate delivery. His efforts helped lift Southern Brave’s total to 135-7.
The Welsh Fire bowlers managed to keep the scoring rate in check throughout much of the innings. Marco Jansen was particularly effective, finishing with figures of 2-17. Australian allrounder Nikhil Chaudhary also picked up 2-19 from 15 balls. Despite the efforts of England bowlers Jofra Archer, who conceded 22 runs, and Adil Rashid, who gave away 18 runs from their combined 40 balls, Brave’s total proved insufficient.
Matt Short, who also bowled for Fire, took a miserly 1-5 from 10 balls. Joe Root’s debut for Welsh Fire ended when he was run out for 15 runs. Nikhil Chaudhary also made a contribution with the bat for Brave, hitting three fours in a 12-ball 19.
Women’s Match Sees Southern Brave Triumph
In a separate match, the Southern Brave women’s team secured an eight-run victory over Welsh Fire in the English Hundred competition. Australia’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Sophie Molineux led Southern Brave and was named player of the match in her first game as captain. The match took place at the Rose Bowl.
Welsh Fire were in a strong position to chase down Brave’s score of 126 runs in Southampton, reaching 1-80 for 58 balls. Georgia Wareham, another Australian player, scored nine runs. However, a direct hit from Jemimah Rodrigues resulted in the run-out of Freya Kemp for 39 runs, providing an opening for Brave.
Georgia Voll was dismissed for 52 runs, and wickets fell rapidly thereafter. Victorian allrounder Molineux took 3-14 from 20 balls, while Lauren Bell and Tilly Corteen-Coleman each claimed two wickets, forcing Fire to finish on 8-118. Earlier in the innings, Southern Brave’s total was built around South Africa star Laura Wolvaardt’s unbeaten 45 runs from 36 balls, with Lizelle Lee contributing 31 runs. Left-hander Molineux was stumped after scoring 22 runs, and her Australian teammate Heather Graham’s four-wicket haul for Fire ultimately proved to be in vain.
The next matches in the competition will see London Spirit take on Manchester Super Giants at Lord’s on Thursday, with the women’s game starting at 14:45 BST and the men’s at 18:30 BST.
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Source: bbc.com
Arjun Sharma
Sports Reporter