Welsh Fire successfully launched their Men's Hundred campaign with a six-wicket victory over Southern Brave at The Rose Bowl in Southampton. Earlier, Fire produced a good bowling display after opting to field on a tacky surface, with their seamers executing their plans well to restrict the Brave to 135 for 7 from their 100 balls.
Sam Cook struck early for the Fire, removing Jamie Smith for 3 with a leg-cutter, while Ben McKinney struggled during his nine-ball stay, eventually falling to Marco Jansen for 4. Despite the early pressure, 18-year-old Thomas Rew impressed on his debut, scoring a fluent 41 off 30 balls with five fours and a six. David Miller, who initially found scoring difficult, accelerated late in the innings to contribute 44. The Brave's total was bolstered by Nikhil Chaudhary, who hit three fours, but the last set of five wasn't quite productive and Miller's stay came to an end off the penultimate ball when Rachin Ravindra produced a direct-hit. Marco Jansen finished with impressive figures of 2-17.
In response, Matthew Short provided an aggressive start to the chase, hitting three fours off Luke Wood and one off Jofra Archer before falling for 20 off 15 to Daniel Worrall. Joe Root joined Phil Salt to add 31 runs, but their partnership was cut short by a run-out that saw Root depart for 15. The Fire then found momentum through a 49-run stand between Salt and Ravindra, which came off just 27 balls.
Although Nikhil Chaudhary created late tension by taking the wickets of Ravindra and Jordan Cox, and Archer and Adil Rashid bowled economical sets, the Fire remained composed. With 9 runs needed from the final 5 balls, Asa Tribe struck a four off Chris Jordan before Phil Salt sealed the win with a six over mid-wicket. Salt finished unbeaten on 47 off 37, guiding his side to victory with two deliveries to spare.
Barring a couple of fours for Root, the boundaries didn't come frequently but the second wicket pair ensured steady strike rotation to keep the scorecard moving.
The partnership, however, came to an abrupt end as a mix-up resulted in Root's run-out for a run-a-ball 15.
