It was a night to forget for Welsh Fire, with both their men’s and women’s sides falling to the Northern Superchargers in the opening matches of The Hundred.

Each match showcased the Chargers’ strength: the women with relentless bowling and composure, the men with blistering hitting and assured chases.

For the Fire, though, both sides struggled to impose their authority on the match.

In the curtain-raising Women’s Hundred match at Headingley, Northern Superchargers delivered a clinical performance, comfortably defeating Welsh Fire by 47 runs. NSC posted a strong total of 141 for 4—a platform that proved simply too formidable for the Fire, who were dismissed for just 94 in 19.3 overs.

Fire’s overseas trio of Shabnim Ismail, Jess Jonassen, and Hayley Matthews were the pick of the bowlers, while Katie Levick and Freya Davies were expensive at the death as Chargers skipper Hollie Armitage and Australian all-rounder Georgia Wareham put on 52 for the final 36 balls.

The Welsh Fire reply was poor. Only three batters reached double figures as captain Tammy Beaumont played a lone hand of 36 from 21 balls, including three towering sixes.

Two wickets each for Wareham, Lindsay Smith, and Grace Ballinger saw the Fire bundled out for 94, losing by 47 runs.

In the later fixture, Fire’s blockbuster opening partnership of Jonny Bairstow and Steve Smith got the Welsh Fire off to a flier, putting on 62 in 37 balls. Bairstow – who still harbours ambitions to return to the international game – top scored for the Fire with 42 from 23 balls.

Fire eventually finished on 143 for 9, falling just short of par despite a spirited effort. After Smith and Bairstow’s opening partnership, a top score of just 18 from captain Tom Abell told the story of a misfiring middle order.

The target of 144 was made to look easy by the Chargers, with England internationals Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan putting on 91 for the first wicket as Fire’s bowlers toiled.

From there, Crawley settled down a touch and finished on 67* from 38 balls, with a Harry Brook blitz (25 from 15) finished things off with a flourish.

The Hundred is a short competition, and momentum key, so the both Welsh sides will be targeting their first home matches – against London Spirit at Sophia Gardens – to really get the Fire started.

Sportin Wales’s coverage of Wales’s World Cup qualifying campaign is proudly sponsored by S4C. You can watch all of Wales’s matches this year for free on S4C and S4C Clic.

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