Matt Short’s Blistering Knock Powers Welsh Fire To Victory Over Southern Brave

Matt Short scored an unbeaten half-century to help Welsh Fire register a comfortable six-wicket win over Southern Brave, taking them level on points with the table leaders in The Hundred.

After choosing to bowl first, Welsh Fire made an excellent start with the ball. Chris Woakes and Sam Cook struck early, removing Jamie Smith and Ben McKinney within the first seven deliveries, with both batters caught behind by Phil Salt.

Cook then claimed another wicket as Phil Salt completed his third catch behind the stumps, dismissing Nikhil Chaudhary.

The pressure continued to build as Rachin Ravindra found plenty of turn and dismissed Tristan Stubbs and Moeen Ali in consecutive deliveries. The England allrounder looked in good touch, however, he was caught by Joe Root after miscuing his shot high into the air.

Southern Brave struggled to score freely on a difficult pitch and were scoring at just over a run a ball for most of the innings. Marcus Stoinis tried to lift the scoring rate, bringing up his half-century in 35 balls before being caught in the deep off Sam Cook.

David Miller added a couple of sixes towards the end, but Matt Short eventually dismissed him with a catch taken near the boundary.

Jofra Archer then got off the mark with a six from his very first delivery but could not continue the momentum as he was dismissed on the next ball. Due to this, Southern Brave closed their innings on 115/8, which is their lowest total in the history of The Hundred.

Defending a low total, Jofra Archer gave Southern Brave the perfect start by dismissing Phil Salt with the very first ball of the innings. Despite the early wicket, Matt Short and Joe Root stayed composed and built a steady partnership, taking Welsh Fire to 60 before Root was dismissed by Chris Jordan.

Rachin Ravindra and Jordan Cox were unable to make much of an impact, but Tom Kohler-Cadmore played a useful supporting role as Short continued to anchor the chase.

The Australian opener then brought up his half-century with a scoop shot off Archer and guided Welsh Fire to victory. With this win, Fire have secured top position on the points table alongside Trent Rockets who have also won four matches in the tournament.