Bairstow leads Welsh Fire to win as Mandhana stars for Southern Brave
Jonny Bairstow might have been limited to only two appearances in The Hundred but he has certainly made them count. The Yorkshireman stuck his second consecutive 50 in what was his last game for Welsh Fire men’s side before he departs for England duty and a Test series with India.
Bairstow is unlikely to feature against Virat Kohli’s men, not to begin with at least, so it seems an enormous shame his supreme talent will be sitting on the sidelines in the weeks to come.
After a measured start, Bairstow feasted on Southern Brave’s bowlers to strike five sixes and five fours in a fine innings of 72 from 39 balls. He and Ben Duckett (53 from 34 balls) shared a partnership of 116 in a Fire total of 165 for four, while Tom Banton added 34. Southern Brave fell 18 runs short on 147 for seven despite 40 from James Vince and they have now lost both their matches while Welsh Fire, whose fielding can improve, are unbeaten. Welsh Government Covid-19 regulations limited capacity at Sophia Gardens to 3,021 for Tuesday’s double header of fixtures. The England & Wales Cricket Board confirmed those who had
their tickets cancelled will be refunded and offered free access to next year’s competition.
Brave’s bowlers had success when they bowled into the pitch, but they did not do it often enough. Banton struck Danny Briggs for a pair of sixes from the second and third balls, but his first hack of the evening was his undoing as he was bowled by Jake Lintott. Brave were still without England’s Jofra Archer.
Hero of the match Bairstow struggled initially and he was dropped on the leg-side boundary. Duckett flipped an outrageous six over fine leg and he then swept Lintott – both conventionally and reverse – for four straight boundaries. Bairstow tucked into Colin de Grandhomme in a huge Welsh Fire total.
James Vince and Quinton de Kock needed to start fast in Brave’s response and they did just that before South African
De Kock was caught by Banton for 21 from just seven balls. Brave had 54 from the first 25 balls and Devon
Conway and Vince needed 81 from the final 50 balls. But the former dragged on a Jake Ball delivery and James Neesham then claimed the prized scalp of Vince. Fire’s bowlers got to grips with the pitch the better and it proved the difference as Neesham finished with three for five.
Earlier in the day, Brave’s women’s side made it two wins from two thanks to an effortless, unbeaten 61 off only 39 balls from Smriti Mandhana. Jemimah Rodrigues of Northern Superchargers might have been the standout performer in the women’s tournament to date, but her fellow Indian Mandhana showed she is just as talented as she helped Brave ease home by eight wickets.
Welsh Fire made 110 batting first as Brave’s Lauren Bell took two for 19. She said: “Smriti is great. She is a quality batter. It’s been hugely exciting to play in this tournament and we are settling into it the more games we play. It’s been really good to get two wins from two, especially as we’ve had two away from home.”