18/08Result
32nd Match (N), The Hundred Men's Competition at Cardiff, Aug 18 2021
Fire won by 3 wkts (2b rem)
Player of the Match
Glenn PhillipsWelsh Fire (Men)
18/08Result
32nd Match (N), The Hundred Men's Competition at Cardiff, Aug 18 2021
Fire won by 3 wkts (2b rem)
Player of the Match
Glenn PhillipsWelsh Fire (Men)

9.17 pm London Spirit with a ghoulish record ending the inaugural Hundred campaign with a solitary win, ending in last place on three points. Duck soup for the opening partnership in the chase winds up not mattering a bit for Welsh Fire thanks to Glenn Phillips' 80 off 35 balls. Blake Cullen and Brad Wheal's three wickets apiece are in vain.

No surprises for guessing the Match Hero. It's Glenn Phillips: "[Getting a hundred] was definitely on my mind, but in the end we're a team first mentality with the boys. Qais managed to finish it with a couple of balls to go in the end. It was on my mind but definitely wasn't at the forefront. It was great to have so many people here with the Covid restrictions getting a little more lenient. The more I think, the worse it gets for me. It's a very simple game plan that goes on and then if I stick to it and just watch the ball after that, it's all I do to go bat. I think the pitch was a little bit slow. They batted really well. Credit to Josh [Inglis] who batted stunningly in that first innings but obviously it starts to quicken up under lights a little more and we made the most of it. I think every team going forward is going to learn the tactics a little better and understand when to bowl the 10 straight for which type of bowler and when not to so it'll be interesting to see what the next couple years of the Hundred brings."

So tomorrow is the first day without a Hundred doubleheader since the opening two days of the tournament when the men and women played singular curtain raisers. But Friday comes the Eliminator playoff matches! Invincibles vs Phoenix on the women's side followed by Brave vs Rockets in the nightcap for the men's game for the right to go to their respective finals. Join us then for more live coverage. That's all for the league phase though. For Varun Shetty, I'm Peter Della Penna. Take care!

19.3
4
Wheal to Qais Ahmad, FOUR, bouncer outside off, Qais Ahmad uppercuts this over third man. The Afghanistan international gives his countryman something to smile about in difficult times with the matchwinning runs to the boundary. Welsh Fire send the home fans home happy by avoiding the wooden spoon!
19.2
4
Wheal to Qais Ahmad, FOUR, length ball on sixth stump, Qais swats this off a thick edge behind point and beats short third man to the rope.
19.1
0
Wheal to Qais Ahmad, no run, length ball on fifth stump, Qais with a blind heave to the leg side and misses.

Brad Wheal to bowl the final set.

END OF OVER:
19 | 11 Runs | WF-M: 157/7 (7 runs required from 5 balls, RR: 8.26, RRR: 7.00)

  • Josh Cobb28 (15b)
  • Qais Ahmad5 (3b)
  • Jade Dernbach2.5-0-23-0
  • Brad Wheal2.5-0-22-3
18.5
1
Dernbach to Cobb, 1 run, slower wide yorker, scuffs a toe edge to short third man for one.

London Spirit have now been penalized for not finishing their overs in time. They'll have to bowl the final six balls (if the game lasts that long) with an extra fielder inside the ring.

18.4
4
Dernbach to Cobb, FOUR, goes for wide yorker again at 81 mph, Cobb slices a drive off a thick edge that swirls over short third man in the ring and backspins away to the rope.
18.3
1
Dernbach to Qais Ahmad, 1 run, slower ball wide yorker that Qais adjusts to and slams a drive off Dernbach's boots with a ricochet to mid-off for one.
18.2
4
Dernbach to Qais Ahmad, FOUR, attempted wide yorker on sixth stump winds up being a low full toss swatted by Qais through wide long-off and teases Wiese to the boundary. Afghanistan flags proudly waving in the stands for Qais.
18.1
1
Dernbach to Cobb, 1 run, low full toss on fifth stump swatted straight back down the ground for one.

Dernbach at the death. Could bowl 10 straight if he (or his captain Morgan) wants.

END OF OVER:
18 | 7 Runs 1 Wkt | WF-M: 146/7 (18 runs required from 10 balls, RR: 8.11, RRR: 9.00)

  • Qais Ahmad0 (1b)
  • Josh Cobb22 (12b)
  • Brad Wheal2.5-0-22-3
  • Blake Cullen3.5-0-37-3
17.5
0
Wheal to Qais Ahmad, no run, back of a length ball on Qais' ribs, tries to pull and mishits it into the ground.

Qais Ahmad enters now with 18 runs needed off 11 balls.

For a wooden spoon match, this chase is providing plenty of drama!

17.4
W
Wheal to Critchley, OUT, back of a length on middle stump, Critchley backs away and simultaneously charges down the pitch for a leg side heave but manages a toe edge through to the keeper.

MJJ Critchley c †Rossington b Wheal 0 (6m 3b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00

17.3
1
Wheal to Cobb, 1 run, back of a length ball punched away for one.
17.2
2
Wheal to Cobb, 2 runs, dropped! Goodness Joe Cracknell at long-on spills the easiest chance of the night! Length ball climbs on the batter at 83 mph, top edged pull goes up to Cracknell 10 yards inside the rope at long-on, 5/10 difficulty chance and Cracknell makes a total mess of it, juggling it at chest height before spilling it completely.
17.1
4
Wheal to Cobb, FOUR, length ball on off stump at 84 mph, Cobb backs away for a big lofted drive, mid-off is up in the ring so it's a very safe shot beating that fielder and going to the rope.

Wheal returns.

END OF OVER:
17 | 5 Runs 1 Wkt | WF-M: 139/6 (25 runs required from 15 balls, RR: 8.17, RRR: 8.33)

  • Matt Critchley0 (2b)
  • Josh Cobb15 (9b)
  • Blake Cullen3.5-0-37-3
  • Roelof van der Merwe1.5-0-18-0
16.5
1b
Cullen to Critchley, 1 bye, length ball on fifth stump, misses a pull but Rossington with a very costly bye allowing a straightforward collection off a second bounce to elude him.
16.4
0
Cullen to Critchley, no run, length ball on fifth stump, punched to Morgan at extra cover.
16.3
W
Cullen to Higgins, OUT, Bopara makes amends for the mental blunder on the previous ball to take a superb sliding catch at wide deep midwicket! Another length ball that Higgins whacks flat in the air to the leg side. Bopara gets a much better read on it this time and sprints to his left before sliding to cushion the catch and takes it very well about 10 yards inside the rope.

RF Higgins c Bopara b Cullen 8 (8m 7b 1x4 0x6) SR: 114.28

16.2
4
Cullen to Higgins, FOUR, Bopara pays the price for cheating in off the deep midwicket rope! Short ball on the stumps, Bopara is a good 15 yards in off the rope and leaps in vain trying to get something to bat down a flat pull shot. Lands over his head five yards inside the rope and bounces over for four.
16.1
0
Cullen to Higgins, no run, length ball on fourth stump, Higgins with a wild heave and misses.

Blake Cullen back for his final set of five.

END OF OVER:
16 | 11 Runs | WF-M: 134/5 (30 runs required from 20 balls, RR: 8.37, RRR: 7.50)

  • Josh Cobb15 (9b)
  • Ryan Higgins4 (4b)
  • Roelof van der Merwe1.5-0-18-0
  • Mason Crane3.5-0-32-1

Uncharacteristically poor spell from the Dutch international. Three full tosses in that over and a few more in his first set too.

15.5
6
van der Merwe to Cobb, SIX, another knee high full toss on middle, Cobb backs away from leg before swatting this high and deep over the bowler's head.
15.4
1
van der Merwe to Higgins, 1 run, darts this flat, full and wide at 62 mph, Higgins slams a slog along the turf through wide long-on for one.
15.3
1
van der Merwe to Cobb, 1 run, another low full toss at ankle height, slapped flat along the turf to long-on.
15.2
1
van der Merwe to Higgins, 1 run, another knee high full toss on middle stump, punched conservatively to long-on for one.
15.1
2
van der Merwe to Higgins, 2 runs, another low full toss from him on fifth stump, shoveled wide of extra cover and cut off at wide long-off for two.

van der Merwe back around the stumps with left-arm spin.

END OF OVER:
15 | 2 Runs 1 Wkt | WF-M: 123/5 (41 runs required from 25 balls, RR: 8.20, RRR: 8.20)

  • Ryan Higgins0 (1b)
  • Josh Cobb8 (7b)
  • Mason Crane3.5-0-32-1
  • David Wiese1.5-0-15-0
14.5
0
Crane to Higgins, no run, good length ball flighted on fifth stump, left alone.

Ryan Higgins enters. He took 3 for 21 with the ball. Can he help get Welsh Fire over the line with the bat?

14.4
W
Crane to du Plooy, OUT, flighted on a fullish length on middle and leg, misses a sweep and is hit below the knee roll, huge lbw shout upheld. They take 12 out of the 15 seconds chatting before du Plooy calls for a review but this looks pretty hopeless. Definitely no bat, the ball pitched in line and he was hit halfway up the front pad below the knee roll. Ball-tracker shows it pitched on middle and straightened to be ripping out middle and leg halfway up. Review lost for Welsh Fire.

JL du Plooy lbw b Crane 26 (44m 23b 3x4 0x6) SR: 113.04

Fire 2nd innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st1DL LloydT Banton
2nd1DL LloydBM Duckett
3rd18BM DuckettGD Phillips
4th93JL du PlooyGD Phillips
5th10JJ CobbJL du Plooy
6th15JJ CobbRF Higgins
7th8JJ CobbMJJ Critchley
8th19JJ CobbQais Ahmad