Welsh Fire (Welsh: Tân Cymreig) are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in the city of Cardiff. The team represents the historic counties of Glamorgan, Gloucestershire and Somerset in the newly founded competition called The Hundred,[1] which took place for the first time during the 2021 English and Welsh cricket season. Both the men's and women's teams play their home games at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
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| Colours | ||
| Founded | 2019 | |
| Home ground | Sophia Gardens | |
| Capacity | 16,000 | |
| History | ||
| No. of titles | 0 | |
| Official website | Welsh Fire | |
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History
editWelsh Fire was founded in June 2019 as one of eight teams to take part in the inaugural season of The Hundred. The team was jointly run by Glamorgan, Somerset and Gloucestershire County Cricket Clubs. It was reported that the side might be renamed as Western Fire, to allay concerns in Somerset and Gloucestershire that they were not sufficiently represented by the side, but this did not come to fruition.[2]
In July 2019, the team announced that former South Africa and India coach, and current Royal Challengers Bangalore coach Gary Kirsten had been appointed as the men's team coach.[3] The women's side was due to be managed by Matthew Mott, a former Glamorgan coach and the current Australia women's team coach, but he withdrew and was replaced by his assistant coach, Mark O'Leary.[4]
The inaugural Hundred draft[clarification needed] took place in October 2019 and saw the Fire claim Jonny Bairstow as their headline men's draftee, and Katie George as the women's headliner. They are joined by Somerset wicketkeeper-batsman Tom Banton, Glamorgan batsman Colin Ingram, and England batter Bryony Smith.[5]
Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc were selected as the flagship £125,000 signings in the first round and are two of the side's three overseas players. With Ingram and Banton already occupying the £100,000 slots, Welsh Fire sat out the second round. Ravi Rampaul and Ben Duckett were selected in the third round for £75,000 and Simon Harmer, along with Afghanistan's Qais Ahmed (the team's third overseas player), were bought for £60,000 in the fourth. Liam Plunkett and Ryan ten Doeschate were the picks in the fifth round for £50,000 and Gloucestershire duo David Payne and Ryan Higgins were selected in the sixth round for £40,000. Danny Briggs and Leus du Plooy complete the squad, having both been bought for £30,000 in the final round. The final place in the squad will go to an outstanding performer in next season's Vitality Blast 20-over competition.
Australian Meg Lanning was the next pick for the ladies' team.
Honours
editMen's honours
editThe Hundred
- 4th place: 2023 (highest finish)
Women's honours
editThe Hundred
Ground
edit
Both the Fire men's and women's sides play at the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club, Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground, in the west of Cardiff city centre. The women's side had been due to play some matches at Gloucestershire's Bristol County Ground and Somerset's County Ground, Taunton but both teams were brought together at the same ground as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Current squads
edit- Bold denotes players with international caps.
Women's side
edit| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 4 | Emily Windsor | England | 14 September 1997 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 12 | Tammy Beaumont | England | 11 March 1991 | Right-handed | — | Captain |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 34 | Georgia Elwiss | England | 31 May 1991 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 50 | Hayley Matthews | West Indies | 19 March 1998 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Overseas player |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 6 | Sarah Bryce | Scotland | 8 January 2000 | Right-handed | — | |
| Pace bowlers | ||||||
| 42 | Beth Langston | England | 6 September 1992 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 61 | Freya Davies | England | 27 October 1995 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 89 | Shabnim Ismail | South Africa | 5 October 1988 | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player |
| Spin bowlers | ||||||
| 21 | Jess Jonassen | Australia | 5 November 1992 | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Overseas player |
| 64 | Georgia Davis | England | 3 June 1999 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
Men's side
edit| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batters | ||||||
| 23 | Stephen Eskinazi | England | 28 March 1994 | Right-handed | — | |
| 28 | Tom Abell | England | 5 March 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Captain |
| 32 | Tom Kohler-Cadmore | England | 19 August 1994 | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| — | Steve Smith | Australia | 2 June 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Overseas player |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 3 | Luke Wells | England | 29 December 1990 | Left-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 51 | Jonny Bairstow | England | 26 September 1989 | Right-handed | — | |
| Pace bowlers | ||||||
| — | Chris Woakes | England | 2 March 1989 | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Centrally Contracted player |
| Spin bowlers | ||||||
Seasons
editWomen's team
edit| Season | Group stage | Playoff stage | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | Pos | Pld | Pos | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8th | Did not progress | [6] | |
| 2022 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8th | Did not progress | [7] | |
| 2023 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 3rd | 1[a] | 3rd | [8] |
| 2024 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 1st | 1[b] | 2nd | [9] |
Men's team
edit| Season | Group stage | Playoff stage | Ref. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | Pos | Pld | Pos | ||
| 2021 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 7th | Did not progress | [10] | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8th | Did not progress | [11] | |
| 2023 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4th | Did not progress | [12] | |
| 2024 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6th | Did not progress | [13] | |
Notes
- ^ Welsh Fire women qualified for the eliminator in 2023. They played one match, a playoff against Northern Superchargers. After the first innings, rain caused the game to be abandoned with the game ending in a "no result". As Welsh Fire finished the group in 3rd and the Northern Superchargers finished in 2nd, the Northern Superchargers progressed to the final due to a better finishing position in the group stage.
- ^ Welsh Fire women finished top of the group stage and qualified automatically for the final in 2024. They lost the final against London Spirit by 4 wickets.
See also
edit- List of Welsh Fire cricketers
- List of cricket grounds in England and Wales
- List of Test cricket grounds
References
edit- ^ "The Hundred: Team-by-team guides, coach details and venues". Sporting Life. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Cardiff Hundred team may drop 'Welsh' from name in favour of 'Western Fire'". ESPN.com. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ www.uprisevsi.co.uk, upriseVSI. "England and Local Cricket Stars Align for Welsh Fire". Glamorgan Cricket. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "The Hundred: Meet the Welsh Fire". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
- ^ "The Hundred: Central contract and local icon 'drafts' explained". ESPNcricinfo. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
- ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.
Further reading
edit- BBC: The Hundred player draft – covering the first draft signings for each region's team
