Welsh Fire Start Strong In The Hundred



Rhodri Evans

The Hundred is well underway and the Welsh Fire have brought the heat to their first couple of matches in the 2024 competition.

A comprehensive away victory at Manchester Originals on Thursday evening was followed by a tight defeat in their first home fixture of the tournament against reigning champions Oval Invincibles.

Left-Arm Attack Downs Manchester

On the men’s side, Fire’s three left arm seamers – David Willey, David Payne, and Josh Little – ripped apart the Manchester top order, leaving their opponents 37-7 from 54balls at one stage in the contest.

Jamie Overton and Scott Currie rallied slightly for the Originals, but 88-9 was never a winning score. World Cup winner Jonny Bairstow got the Fire off to a flyer and captain Tom Abell finished it off with 43 balls remaining.

David Payne of Welsh Fire
David Payne is one of three left-arm seamers in the Welsh Fire squad this season.

Getting Off To A Fast Start

Speaking before the tournament, Welsh Fire head coach Mike Hussey spoke about the desire for the franchise to start well, setting themselves up for the top 3 and a place in the latter stages.

“There’s not a lot of time to deep dive into matches in between games, so starting well is key,” said Hussey, who is also the Chennai Super Kings batting coach in the Indian Premier League.

“We pretty much just play a game, packs our bags, and move onto the next place to play the next game. That can be a positive in both ways.

“If you have a bad game, you can park it and move onto the next one with a chance to turn it around quickly.”

Attacking At Home

Don’t tell Hussey that Welsh Fire will be ‘defending’ their fortress at Sophia Gardens this season.

“If we can win most of our home games, it gives you a big leg up in having a chance to progress to the next stage,” said Hussey.

“It’s twofold. We want to build a really good home ground advantage here. If we can do that, then the fans are going to want to watch us play.

“That’s been a big focus with me this year as well. Making it difficult for teams coming here to win will be important.”

The Australian wants his side to attack teams that visit Cardiff this season, especially with their formidable bowling attack.

In their two matches so far, no opposition batter has passed 30, with a combined score of 199-17 from 200 balls, by far the best of any side in the competition.

As well as the left-arm trio, the Welsh Fire attack includes the wily Somerset seamer Jake Ball, with his array of slower balls, and Mason Crane, Glamorgan’s new leg spinner.

The Wildcard

After an excellent T20 Blast campaign with new side Glamorgan, Crane was selected as Welsh Fire’s ‘wildcard’ player.

Wildcard players are picked a month before the tournament, after the draft has taken place, and allows each squad to pick an extra two players to fill out their squads.

Often these are players who are either previously unknown, or on excellent form. Crane is definitely the latter.

A one-time international cricketer, Crane had taken 19 wickets at 18.84 apiece in the Blast, forming an unlikely spin duo with Australian international Marnus Labuschagne.

Crane has taken two wickets in his first two games with the Fire and his economy rate is currently below a run-a-ball. Perhaps most remarkably, he is yet to be hit for six.

‘His skillset is exactly what we need’

Fire skipper Tom Abell was delighted to add Crane’s craft to the squad.

“We spoke pretty extensively about who we’d like to add and what sort of skill sets we’d like in the group,” said Abell.

“A different type of spinner was certainly something we looked at and obviously Mason is a highly skilful bowler and a very attacking spinner. He spins it both ways and gets plenty of action on the ball, so he’ll certainly be a wicket-taking option for us through the middle.”

While the emphasis for the team going into the tournament was continuity, head coach Mike Hussey believes Crane will be a key addition as they look to go further in this year’s competition.

Mason Crane of Welsh Fire and Glamorgan
Mason Crane has impressed for Glamorgan this season.

“He’s got a lot of energy, which is going to be good around the group as well,” said Hussey.

“His skillset is exactly what we needed. I’m someone that likes to take wickets all the way through the innings, particularly up front in the powerplay, then continue in the middle sets.

“I’m delighted to have someone like Mason, who now has experience of playing here in Cardiff, which is a unique ground. Him having success here will give him confidence, because we want to play well here in Cardiff.”

International Experience

Recognising that The Hundred is a short, sharp competition, the Fire have lent on experience in their squad.

Bairstow, Ball, Willey, Crane, and Payne have all played for England, while Little and Roelof van der Merwe are Ireland and Netherlands internationals respectively. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry are integral members of the New Zealand side, and Haris Rauf is a Pakistan stalwart.

“We have focused on recruiting players who have be there and done it,” Hussey said.

“Having the likes of Jonny [Bairstow] and David [Willey] in the team gives everyone a lift because they are World Cup winners.

“With experience brings calmness under pressure, and that allows us to take control of those tight moments in matches and win those close games that make the difference.”

Welsh Fire
Tom Abell of Welsh Fire celebrates as Glenn Phillips hits a six to win the match.

Lessons From 2023

The Fire missed out on the eliminator match for the 2023 season on net run rate, something Hussey is well-aware of going into this season.

“What I did learn from last year, is that because the competition is so tight, you can’t really afford to have the big blowout loss,” said Hussey.

“We had a big loss against Southern Brave, which made our net run rate too low to come back from. That ended up costing us.

“There is going to be games we win and game we lose, but we’re going to have to try and make sure our losses are tight and our wins are big. Being competitive in every game is what we are looking for.”

Abell agrees, maintaining the belief that the Fire do not need to change much from what brought their success in 2023.

“We were obviously pretty disappointed last year to miss out on the play-offs so narrowly,” Abell says.

“For the majority of the competition, I thought we were brilliant. I think that was the blueprint for how we sort of want to operate as a group.

“Within the dressing room, we’re all ambitious and we’re here to win this competition. There was plenty we could take from last year. We were a new group, and we’d like to think that we can try and take that on a step further this year.

“We’re pretty excited. As I say, we’ve added a little bit of quality as well.”

Welsh Fire Men’s Fixtures:

London Spirit vs Welsh Fire

15:00, 1st August

Lord’s, London

Trent Rockets vs Welsh Fire

18:00, 3rd August

Trent Bridge, Nottingham

Welsh Fire vs Southern Brave

18:30, 5th August

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Welsh Fire vs Northern Super-Chargers

15:00, 8th August

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Welsh Fire vs Birmingham Phoenix

18:00, 10th August

Sophia Gardens, Cardiff

Southern Brave vs Welsh Fire

15:00, 14th August

Utilita Bowl, Southampton


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