Continuity. That is the order of the day for Welsh Fire as they embark on a fourth Hundred campaign.

Prior to last season, neither side placed above seventh, with the women’s side suffering back-to-back eight place finishes, and just three wins from 14 games.

After two years of poor results, 2023 marked a turning point for the franchise, with the women’s side ending the season in third and men’s in fourth.

2023, with an overhaul of both sides, was much more positive. The women’s side, led by captain Tammy Beaumont’s career-best form, won five games and missed out on a place in the final due to a now-defunct rain rule.

For the men, their gamble on two of the quickest bowlers in the world, Pakistani duo Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, paid off. Michael Hussey, another new recruit as head coach, managed the side well as his side came fourth, just missing out on the eliminator match.

Hitting The Ground Running

This time around, both teams are focused on continuity. Welsh Fire retained the most players across both the men’s and women’s teams, with four overseas players also coming back for second seasons at Sophia Gardens.

For head coach Gareth Breese, this gives the side a chance to hit the ground running.

“We’ve managed to retain a lot of our players from last year,” says Breese.

“We have retained nine players that we had last year, which then gives us a real good foundation. I think it’s really important also to separate the successful season we had last year with this year because we are starting again.

“For me, that is important to settle them in a little bit quicker, and having lots that are returning helps a lot. It certainly feels like that at the moment.”

International Expertise

Experience is another quality that the Fire have prioritized, with Beaumont, Georgia Elwiss, Sarah Bryce, Hayley Matthews, Shabnim Ismail, and new recruit Jess Jonassen all appearing on the international stage for a number of years.

“You’ve got to be able to trust the girls coming in to be able to execute their roles,” Breese adds.

“With The Hundred being so fast, sometimes too much information can confuse things unnecessarily. Trust is the most important thing and having players who know their roles from previous season is important in that.

“I think once they start to relax and make those friendships and those bonds within the squad, then you can start getting to the nitty gritty and that’s what we tried to do, is to keep a really relaxed kind of environment that we had last season.”

Returning overseas stars, Matthews and Ismail, standout in particular. Matthews, the captain of the West Indies, was named the Wisden T20 Cricketer of the Year for 2023, making her the first female winner in the award’s seven-year history.

The Joker In The Pack

Ismail has been the world’s fastest bowler ever since her international debut and has taken over 300 wickets in her 16-year career. She was also an integral part of the early domination of The Hundred by the Oval Invincibles, winning the first two titles in 2021 and 2022 before crossing the boarder to join Welsh Fire.

Beaumont, though, is excited to have Ismail the character back at Sophia Gardens for another season.

“Shabnim [Ismail] is so funny,” says Beaumont.

“She loves to give people nicknames and she’s already working away on a few for team. We’re really lucky that we’ve got 10 or 11 coming back who were here last year.

“A lot of that groundwork is in place and that gives us a big head start on other teams who have changed a lot from last season. Building a team culture doesn’t happen in a week so to have 2023 to look back on is good for us.

“We’ve just got to try and get around people and put yourself out there. We’ve got quite a few extroverts in the squad so we’re always having a laugh and getting along well.”

2023 Heartbreak

Speaking to Beaumont, it is clear that there is a confidence about just how good her team can be this upcoming season.

Having come third in the group stage of the competition, their eliminator match against Northern Superchargers was cut short due to rain with Fire in a strong position. Because the men’s eliminator needed to be played on the same day, the women’s match was abandoned, with the Superchargers advancing to final due to a better position in the group stage.

That rule has now changed, with a reserve day now in place in case of rain, but the match still lingers in Breese’s mind ahead of the new campaign.

“I thought we’d set ourselves up really nicely towards the back end of that game,” Breese says of the eliminator match.

“Laura Harris was in with Tammy at the time, and we were set up to finish really nicely before the rain came.

“The good thing coming out of that is obviously that the rules have been changed to make sure the match gets played. For us, we see it as a disappointment that we didn’t put the points on the board earlier in the competition.”

‘Be The Calm In The Chaos’

For Beaumont though, it is clear that this new tournament poses new challenges for her captaincy of the side.

“I think it’s about trying to get the best out of out of everyone and make sure they’re all feel really valued within the team,” Beaumont explains.

“And within that, just try and stay cool and be the calm in the chaos as the captain. I think because The Hundred is so chaotic, often it’s the teams that are well prepared and relaxed are able to adapt quickly.

“We want to perform and feel well-prepared to do so.”

Fine Margins

With fewer balls comes tighter contests. In 2023, Welsh Fire won matches by just four runs, three runs and three wickets, while they lost matches by only 16 runs and two wickets.

Beaumont knows that in those tight moments, with matches on the line, her squad has the experience and quality to thrive under pressure.

“We take each game as it comes,” Beaumont says.

“It’s all about who performs well on the day in this competition, and therefore we have to stick to our strengths and do the basics well. A massive part of it is also enjoying each other’s company and sticking together in tough moments. If we do that, results take care of themselves almost.

“There were two game last year that stood out to me. We played Birmingham Phoenix, and they needed eight to win from the last set of five and we won by 3 runs. Then, the very next game at Sophia Gardens against the Southern Brave, they needed the same and we lost by 2 wickets.

“That sums up The Hundred to me. We did absolutely the same thing in terms of attitude, application, planning, performance, and energy in both games, but we got two different results.

“For us this season it is about keeping our attitude and approach as high as possible and riding the wave of the tournament, hopefully all the way to the final.”

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