Welsh Fire

Welsh Fire
Tân Cymreig
Personnel
Captain
Coach
Overseas player(s)
Team information
Colours  
Founded2019
Home groundSophia Gardens
Capacity16,000
History
No. of titles0
Official websiteWelsh Fire

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.

History

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Welsh 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

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Men's honours

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The Hundred

  • 4th place: 2023 (highest finish)

Women's honours

[edit]

The Hundred

Ground

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Sophia Gardens
Main article: Sophia Gardens Cricket Ground

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

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  • Bold denotes players with international caps.
  •  *  denotes a player who is unavailable for rest of the season.

Women's side

[edit]
No. Name Nationality Date of birth (age) Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
4 Emily Windsor  England (1997-09-14) 14 September 1997 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm medium
10 Phoebe Franklin  England (1998-02-18) 18 February 1998 (age 26) Right-handed Right-arm medium
12 Tammy Beaumont  England (1991-03-11) 11 March 1991 (age 33) Right-handed — Captain
18 Ella McCaughan  England (2002-09-26) 26 September 2002 (age 22) Right-handed Right-arm leg break
47 Sophia Dunkley  England (1998-07-16) 16 July 1998 (age 26) Right-handed Right-arm leg break
All-rounders
25 Alex Griffiths  Wales (2002-06-12) 12 June 2002 (age 22) Right-handed Right-arm medium
34 Georgia Elwiss  England (1991-05-31) 31 May 1991 (age 33) Right-handed Right-arm medium
50 Hayley Matthews  West Indies (1998-03-19) 19 March 1998 (age 26) Right-handed Right-arm off break Overseas player
Wicket-keepers
6 Sarah Bryce  Scotland (2000-01-08) 8 January 2000 (age 24) Right-handed —
Pace bowlers
42 Beth Langston  England (1992-09-06) 6 September 1992 (age 32) Right-handed Right-arm medium Replacement player
61 Freya Davies  England (1995-10-27) 27 October 1995 (age 29) Right-handed Right-arm medium
89 Shabnim Ismail  South Africa (1988-10-05) 5 October 1988 (age 36) Left-handed Right-arm fast-medium Overseas player
— Kate Coppack  England (1994-08-30) 30 August 1994 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm medium Wildcard player
Spin bowlers
8 Claire Nicholas  Wales (1986-09-08) 8 September 1986 (age 38) Right-handed Right-arm off break Ruled out
21 Jess Jonassen  Australia (1992-11-05) 5 November 1992 (age 32) Left-handed Slow left-arm orthodox Overseas player
64 Georgia Davis  England (1999-06-03) 3 June 1999 (age 25) Right-handed Right-arm off break Wildcard player

Men's side

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No. Name Nationality Date of birth (age) Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
6 Glenn Phillips  New Zealand (1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 (age 28) Right-handed Right-arm off break Overseas player
23 Stephen Eskinazi  England (1994-03-28) 28 March 1994 (age 30) Right-handed —
28 Tom Abell  England (1994-03-05) 5 March 1994 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm medium Captain
32 Tom Kohler-Cadmore  England (1994-08-19) 19 August 1994 (age 30) Right-handed Right-arm off break
44 Ross Whiteley  England (1988-09-13) 13 September 1988 (age 36) Left-handed Left-arm medium Replacement player
All-rounders
3 Luke Wells  England (1990-12-29) 29 December 1990 (age 33) Left-handed Right-arm leg break
15 David Willey  England (1990-02-28) 28 February 1990 (age 34) Left-handed Left-arm fast-medium
52 Roelof van der Merwe  Netherlands[a] (1984-12-31) 31 December 1984 (age 39) Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox
54 Ben Green  England (1997-09-28) 28 September 1997 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Wildcard player
Wicket-keepers
33 Joe Clarke  England (1996-05-26) 26 May 1996 (age 28) Right-handed —
51 Jonny Bairstow  England (1989-09-26) 26 September 1989 (age 35) Right-handed — Centrally contracted player
— Chris Cooke  South Africa (1986-05-30) 30 May 1986 (age 38) Right-handed — UK passport;
Ruled out
Pace bowlers
7 David Payne  England (1991-02-15) 15 February 1991 (age 33) Right-handed Left-arm fast-medium
10 Shaheen Afridi  Pakistan (2000-04-06) 6 April 2000 (age 24) Left-handed Right-arm fast Overseas player;
Withdrawn
14 Jake Ball  England (1991-03-14) 14 March 1991 (age 33) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium
21 Matt Henry  New Zealand (1991-12-14) 14 December 1991 (age 33) Right-handed Right-arm fast-medium Overseas player;
Replacement player
82 Josh Little  Ireland (1999-11-01) 1 November 1999 (age 25) Right-handed Left-arm fast Overseas player;
Replacement player
97 Haris Rauf  Pakistan (1993-11-07) 7 November 1993 (age 31) Right-handed Right-arm fast Overseas player
Spin bowlers
5 Mason Crane  England (1997-02-18) 18 February 1997 (age 27) Right-handed Right-arm leg break Wildcard player
  1. ^ Van der Merwe has also played international cricket for South Africa

Seasons

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Women'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

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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

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References

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  1. ^ "The Hundred: Team-by-team guides, coach details and venues". Sporting Life. 21 October 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  2. ^ "Cardiff Hundred team may drop 'Welsh' from name in favour of 'Western Fire'". ESPN.com. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  3. ^ www.uprisevsi.co.uk, upriseVSI. "England and Local Cricket Stars Align for Welsh Fire". Glamorgan Cricket. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  4. ^ "The Hundred: Meet the Welsh Fire". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 October 2021.
  5. ^ "The Hundred: Central contract and local icon 'drafts' explained". ESPNcricinfo. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  6. ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
  7. ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
  8. ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
  9. ^ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.
  10. ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
  11. ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
  12. ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
  13. ^ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.

Further reading

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