2021 Welsh Fire season

Welsh Fire

2021 season
Coach	Gary Kirsten (men's team) Matthew Mott (women's team)
Captain	Jonny Bairstow (men's team) Sophie Luff (women's team)
Overseas player	James Neesham Glenn Phillips Qais Ahmad (men's team) Piepa Cleary Hayley Matthews Georgia Redmayne (women's team)
Ground(s)	Sophia Gardens
The Hundred (Men's)	7th
The Hundred (Women's)	8th
Most runs	Ben Duckett: 232 (Men's team) Hayley Matthews: 221 (Women's team)
Most wickets	Hayley Matthews: 11 (Women's team) Qais Ahmad: 8 (Men's team)
Most catches	Glenn Phillips: 5 (Men's team) Katie George: 4 (Women's team)
2022 →

The 2021 season was Welsh Fire's first season of the new franchise 100 ball cricket, The Hundred.

Players

The first players assigned to the Welsh Fire were England women's centrally contracted players Katie George and Bryony Smith, England men's red-ball contracted player Jonny Bairstow, and two "local icons" in Somerset's Tom Banton and Glamorgan's Colin Ingram. ^[1]

Men's side

In the initial draft for the men's Hundred on 20 October 2019, Welsh Fire selected Australia internationals Mitchell Starc and Steve Smith as overseas players at the £125,000 salary level, as well as Qais Ahmed at the £60,000 level. ^[2] Smith was appointed as captain of the team in February 2020. ^[3] After the Hundred was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Jonny Bairstow lost his England central contract and was replaced in that capacity at Welsh Fire by Ollie Pope. ^[4] Smith and Starc were also not retained for the rescheduled competition. ^[5] Bairstow was ultimately re-signed by the Fire as one of their salary-banded players, ^[6] and appointed as captain in July 2021. ^[7]

• Bold denotes players with international caps.

S/N	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batsmen
1	Ian Cockbain		(1987-02-17) 17 February 1987 (age 38)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
17	Ben Duckett		(1994-10-17) 17 October 1994 (age 30)	Left-handed	—
18	Tom Banton		(1998-11-11) 11 November 1998 (age 26)	Right-handed	—
76	Leus du Plooy		(1995-01-12) 12 January 1995 (age 30)	Left-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	Wildcard pick; EU passport
—	Ollie Pope		(1998-01-02) 2 January 1998 (age 27)	Right-handed	—	Centrally contracted
All-rounders
4	Josh Cobb		(1990-08-17) 17 August 1990 (age 35)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
20	Matt Critchley		(1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 29)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
29	Ryan Higgins		(1995-01-06) 6 January 1995 (age 30)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
50	James Neesham		(1990-09-17) 17 September 1990 (age 34)	Left-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	Overseas player
73	David Lloyd		(1992-06-15) 15 June 1992 (age 33)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Wicketkeepers
23	Glenn Phillips		(1996-12-06) 6 December 1996 (age 28)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
51	Jonny Bairstow		(1989-09-26) 26 September 1989 (age 35)	Right-handed	—	Captain
Pace bowlers
7	David Payne		(1991-02-15) 15 February 1991 (age 34)	Right-handed	Left-arm fast-medium
8	Matt Milnes		(1994-07-29) 29 July 1994 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	Replacement player
14	Jake Ball		(1991-03-14) 14 March 1991 (age 34)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
19	Luke Fletcher		(1988-09-18) 18 September 1988 (age 36)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium	Replacement player
28	Liam Plunkett		(1985-04-06) 6 April 1985 (age 40)	Right-handed	Right-arm fast-medium
Spin bowlers
30	Qais Ahmad		(2000-08-15) 15 August 2000 (age 25)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break	Overseas player
87	Graeme White		(1987-04-18) 18 April 1987 (age 38)	Right-handed	Slow left-arm orthodox	Replacement player

Women's side

• Bold denotes players with international caps.

S/N	Name	Nat.	Date of birth (age)	Batting style	Bowling style	Notes
Batters
63	Sophie Luff		(1993-12-06) 6 December 1993 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	Captain
All-rounders
44	Alice Macleod		(1994-05-14) 14 May 1994 (age 31)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break
50	Hayley Matthews		(1998-03-19) 19 March 1998 (age 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break	Overseas player
64	Georgia Hennessy		(1996-11-04) 4 November 1996 (age 28)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Wicketkeepers
7	Nat Wraith		(2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 23)	Right-handed	—
8	Georgia Redmayne		(1993-12-08) 8 December 1993 (age 31)	Left-handed	—	Overseas player
30	Sarah Taylor		(1989-05-20) 20 May 1989 (age 36)	Right-handed	—
Pace bowlers
17	Piepa Cleary		(1996-07-17) 17 July 1996 (age 29)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium	Overseas player
25	Alex Griffiths		(2002-06-12) 12 June 2002 (age 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
99	Katie George		(1999-04-07) 7 April 1999 (age 26)	Left-handed	Left-arm medium	Centrally contracted
—	Lauren Filer		(2000-12-22) 22 December 2000 (age 24)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
—	Amy Gordon		(2001-10-03) 3 October 2001 (age 23)	Right-handed	Right-arm medium
Spin bowlers
2	Nicole Harvey		(1992-09-18) 18 September 1992 (age 32)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
3	Hannah Baker		(2004-02-03) 3 February 2004 (age 21)	Right-handed	Right-arm leg break
4	Bryony Smith		(1997-12-12) 12 December 1997 (age 27)	Right-handed	Right-arm off break

Fixtures (Men)

All times are in British Summer Time (UTC+01:00)

July

24 July 2021 18:00 (N) Scorecard

Welsh Fire 173/4 (100 balls)	v	Northern Superchargers 168/7 (100 balls)
Jonny Bairstow 56 (36) Ben Stokes 1/8 (10 balls)		Harry Brook 62 (31) Qais Ahmad 4/13 (20 balls)

Welsh Fire won by 5 runs Headingley, Leeds Attendance: 10,324 [8] Umpires: Nigel Llong and Neil Mallender Player of the match: Qais Ahmad (Welsh Fire)

• Northern Superchargers won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Welsh Fire 2, Northern Superchargers 0.

---

27 July 2021 18:30 (N) Scorecard

Welsh Fire 165/4 (100 balls)	v	Southern Brave 147/7 (100 balls)
Jonny Bairstow 72 (39) Danny Briggs 2/33 (15 balls)		James Vince 40 (27) James Neesham 3/5 (15 balls)

Welsh Fire won by 18 runs Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Attendance: 3,021 [9] Umpires: Rob Bailey and Nigel Llong Player of the match: Jonny Bairstow (Welsh Fire)

• Southern Brave won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Welsh Fire 2, Southern Brave 0.

---

31 July 2021 14:30 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 150/6 (100 balls)	v	Manchester Originals 153/3 (95 balls)
Leus du Plooy 43 (22) Tom Hartley 2/11 (15 balls)		Joe Clarke 58 (31) Ryan Higgins 1/9 (10 balls)

Manchester Originals won by 7 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Umpires: Rob Bailey and Tim Robinson Player of the match: Joe Clarke (Manchester Originals)

• Welsh Fire won the toss and elected to bat.
• Points: Manchester Originals 2, Welsh Fire 0.

August

2 August 2021 18:30 (N) Scorecard

Welsh Fire 121/7 (100 balls)	v	Oval Invincibles 125/4 (93 balls)
Ben Duckett 65 (52) Tom Curran 3/29 (20 balls)		Sam Billings 40* (34) James Neesham 2/23 (20 balls)

Oval Invincibles won by 6 wickets The Oval, London Attendance: 21,279 [10] Umpires: Neil Mallender and Alex Wharf Player of the match: Sam Billings (Oval Invincibles)

• Oval Invincibles won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Oval Invincibles 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

6 August 2021 19:00 (N) Scorecard

Welsh Fire 139/8 (100 balls)	v	Trent Rockets 140/4 (90 balls)
Glenn Phillips 50 (35) Wahab Riaz 4/30 (20 balls)		Samit Patel 46* (20) Qais Ahmad 2/23 (20 balls)

Trent Rockets won by 6 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Umpires: Rob Bailey and Martin Saggers Player of the match: Samit Patel (Trent Rockets)

• Trent Rockets won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Trent Rockets 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

9 August 2021 18:30 (N) Scorecard

Birmingham Phoenix 184/5 (100 balls)	v	Welsh Fire 91 (74 balls)
Will Smeed 65* (38) David Payne 3/38 (20 balls)		Ian Cockbain 32 (25) Imran Tahir 5/25 (19 balls)

Birmingham Phoenix won by 93 runs Edgbaston, Birmingham Umpires: Steve O'Shaughnessy and Tim Robinson Player of the match: Imran Tahir (Birmingham Phoenix)

• Welsh Fire won the toss and elected to field.
• Imran Tahir (Birmingham Phoenix) took a hat-trick.
• Points: Birmingham Phoenix 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

11 August 2021 18:30 (N) Scorecard

Welsh Fire 144/5 (100 balls)	v	Southern Brave 147/2 (87 balls)
Tom Banton 36 (20) Danny Briggs 2/17 (20 balls)		Quinton de Kock 57* (32) Luke Fletcher 1/24 (15 balls)

Southern Brave won by 8 wickets Rose Bowl, Southampton Umpires: David Millns and Russell Warren Player of the match: Quinton de Kock (Southern Brave)

• Southern Brave won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Southern Brave 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

18 August 2021 18:30 (N) Scorecard

London Spirit 163/5 (100 balls)	v	Welsh Fire 165/7 (98 balls)
Josh Inglis 72 (45) Ryan Higgins 3/21 (20 balls)		Glenn Phillips 80 (35) Brad Wheal 3/30 (18 balls)

Welsh Fire won by 3 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Attendance: 9,261 [11] Umpires: Nick Cook and Nigel Llong Player of the match: Glenn Phillips (Welsh Fire)

• Welsh Fire won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Welsh Fire 2, London Spirit 0.

Fixtures (Women)

All times are in British Summer Time (UTC+01:00)

July

24 July 2021 14:30 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 130/8 (100 balls)	v	Northern Superchargers 131/4 (85 balls)
Hayley Matthews 30 (20) Linsey Smith 3/14 (20 balls)		Jemimah Rodrigues 92* (43) Piepa Cleary 1/14 (15 balls)

Northern Superchargers won by 6 wickets Headingley, Leeds Umpires: Anna Harris and Steve O'Shaughnessy Player of the match: Jemimah Rodrigues (Northern Superchargers)

• Northern Superchargers won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Northern Superchargers 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

27 July 2021 15:00 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 110/7 (100 balls)	v	Southern Brave 112/2 (84 balls)
Hayley Matthews 33 (20) Lauren Bell 2/19 (20 balls) Amanda-Jade Wellington 2/19 (20 balls)		Smriti Mandhana 61* (39) Nicole Harvey 1/23 (15 balls)

Southern Brave won by 8 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Umpires: Jasmine Naeem and Alex Wharf Player of the match: Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave)

• Southern Brave won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Southern Brave 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

31 July 2021 11:00 Scorecard

Manchester Originals 120/6 (100 balls)	v	Welsh Fire 124/1 (88 balls)
Sophie Ecclestone 31* (15) Georgia Hennessy 2/24 (20 balls)		Hayley Matthews 71* (50) Laura Jackson 1/27 (15 balls)

Welsh Fire won by 9 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Umpires: Neil Mallender and Sue Redfern Player of the match: Hayley Matthews (Welsh Fire)

• Welsh Fire won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Welsh Fire 2, Manchester Originals 0.

August

2 August 2021 15:00 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 112/6 (100 balls)	v	Oval Invincibles 100/9 (100 balls)
Georgia Redmayne 30 (29) Dane van Niekerk 1/10 (20 balls)		Grace Gibbs 21 (22) Hayley Matthews 3/23 (20 balls)

Welsh Fire won by 12 runs The Oval, London Umpires: Graham Lloyd and Sue Redfern Player of the match: Sarah Taylor (Welsh Fire)

• Oval Invincibles won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Welsh Fire 2, Oval Invincibles 0.

---

6 August 2021 15:30 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 102 (100 balls)	v	Trent Rockets 103/6 (92 balls)
Hayley Matthews 28 (32) Heather Graham 3/14 (20 balls)		Nat Sciver 54 (40) Hayley Matthews 2/13 (20 balls)

Trent Rockets won by 4 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Umpires: Peter Hartley and Jasmine Naeem Player of the match: Nat Sciver (Trent Rockets)

• Trent Rockets won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Trent Rockets 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

9 August 2021 15:00 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 127/9 (100 balls)	v	Birmingham Phoenix 131/0 (76 balls)
Bryony Smith 38 (36) Kirstie Gordon 2/30 (20 balls)		Shafali Verma 76* (42)

Birmingham Phoenix won by 10 wickets Edgbaston, Birmingham Umpires: Sarah Bartlett and Russell Warren Player of the match: Shafali Verma (Birmingham Phoenix)

• Birmingham Phoenix won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Birmingham Phoenix 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

11 August 2021 15:00 Scorecard

Southern Brave 166/3 (100 balls)	v	Welsh Fire 127/4 (100 balls)
Smriti Mandhana 78 (52) Hayley Matthews 2/27 (20 balls)		Georgia Redmayne 35* (27) Danni Wyatt 1/10 (5 balls)

Southern Brave won by 39 runs Rose Bowl, Southampton Umpires: Graham Lloyd and Jasmine Naeem Player of the match: Smriti Mandhana (Southern Brave)

• Welsh Fire won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: Southern Brave 2, Welsh Fire 0.

---

18 August 2021 15:00 Scorecard

Welsh Fire 95/9 (100 balls)	v	London Spirit 96/3 (58 balls)
Georgia Redmayne 35 (28) Danielle Gibson 2/10 (15 balls)		Heather Knight 34* (19) Danielle Gibson 34* (19) Hayley Matthews 2/28 (18 balls)

London Spirit won by 7 wickets Sophia Gardens, Cardiff Umpires: Sarah Bartlett and David Millns Player of the match: Danielle Gibson (London Spirit)

• London Spirit won the toss and elected to field.
• Points: London Spirit 2, Welsh Fire 0.

Standings

Women

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Southern Brave	8	7	1	0	0	14	1.056
2	Oval Invincibles	8	4	3	0	1	9	0.015
3	Birmingham Phoenix	8	4	4	0	0	8	0.186
4	London Spirit	8	4	4	0	0	8	0.046
5	Manchester Originals	8	3	4	0	1	7	0.016
6	Northern Superchargers	8	3	4	0	1	7	−0.041
7	Trent Rockets	8	3	4	0	1	7	−0.293
8	Welsh Fire	8	2	6	0	0	4	−1.017

Source: ESPN Cricinfo, ^[12] Sky Sports ^[13]

  advances to the Final
  advances to the Eliminator

Men

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	T	NR	Pts	NRR
1	Birmingham Phoenix	8	6	2	0	0	12	1.087
2	Southern Brave	8	5	2	0	1	11	0.034
3	Trent Rockets	8	5	3	0	0	10	0.035
4	Oval Invincibles	8	4	3	0	1	9	0.123
5	Northern Superchargers	8	3	4	0	1	7	0.510
6	Manchester Originals	8	2	4	0	2	6	−0.361
7	Welsh Fire	8	3	5	0	0	6	−0.827
8	London Spirit	8	1	6	0	1	3	−0.641

Source: ESPN Cricinfo, ^[14] Sky Sports ^[15]

  advances to the Final
  advances to the Eliminator

References

1. "First players named in The Hundred men's & women's teams". ecb.co.uk. England & Wales Cricket Board. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
2. "The Hundred: Welsh Fire pick Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc". BBC Sport. 20 October 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
3. "The Hundred: Australia batsman Steve Smith to captain Welsh Fire". BBC Sport. 26 February 2020. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
4. Roller, Matt (9 October 2020). "Jonny Bairstow seeks Hundred payday as Ollie Pope replaces him at Welsh Fire". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
5. "The Hundred: Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc set to miss rescheduled competition". BBC Sport. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
6. "The Hundred: Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Lizelle Lee among a host of stars retained for 2021". BBC Sport. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
7. "The Hundred: Jonny Bairstow set to captain Welsh Fire". BBC Sport. 13 July 2021. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
8. "The Hundred: Fire vs Superchargers". espncricinfo. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
9. "The Hundred: Fire vs Brave". thecricketer. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
10. "The Hundred: Invincibles vs Fire". espncricinfo. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
11. "The Hundred: Fire vs Spirit". espncricinfo. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
12. The Hundred Women's Competition Standings, ESPN Cricinfo
13. The Hundred Standings, Sky Sports
14. The Hundred Men's Competition Standings, ESPN Cricinfo
15. The Hundred Standings, Sky Sports