The Welsh Fire have taken their time to come to the party in The Hundred but off the back of their best campaign so far last term they will be looking to go even better this time around and secure a spot in the playoffs for the first time, and potentially go even further and launch a tilt at the title. Cardiff could be a buoyant place is the Fire can heat up like they did just a year ago.
Stats
Last Season: 4th
Captain: Tom Abell
Key Players: Jonny Bairstow & David Payne
Best Odds: 8/1 General
Fixtures
Jul 25: Manchester Originals (a)
Jul 28: Oval Invincibles (h)
Aug 1: London Spirit (a)
Aug 3: Trent Rockets (a)
Aug 5: Southern Brave (h)
Aug 8: Northern Superchargers (h)
Aug 10: Birmingham Phoenix (h)
Aug 14: Southern Brave (a)
Squad
Jonny Bairstow, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, David Willey, Joe Clarke, Haris Rauf, Tom Abell, Glenn Phillips, David Payne, Luke Wells, Roelof van der Merwe, Jake Ball, Stephen Eskinazi, Chris Cooke, Matt Henry, Mason Crane, Ben Green
Preview
There is plenty of reason for optimism for the Welsh Fire after a good campaign last season and more good work done in the draft ahead of this season however their plans took a dent when Shaheen Afridi chose Canada over this competition. Matt Henry is a solid replacement for him but he was already signed to Major League Cricket so he won’t be around for the beginning of the event which is a bit of a blow for the Fire, both nothing massively significant.
That aside, the Fire are one of the few teams in the competition who haven’t lost anyone to England call ups and if Jonny Bairstow can finally play a full season and Mason Crane can perform for the Welsh outfit like he has the county that they are based in then there is no reason why Welsh Fire can’t improve on last term. Bairstow not playing the full season or one of the openers not having a big campaign could be to their detriment however.
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Betting
Bookmakers have Glenn Phillips a 3/1 shot to be the leading batter for the Welsh Fire this season but I’ve got to think that he is going to bat far too down the order for that to be a runner. One man who might not be so low is Tom Kohler-Cadmore and as the big signing from the Trent Rockets in the draft you would imagine he will play a major part in the tournament with the bat. Given that the form of the openers are sketchy and we don’t actually know who the openers will be, the 3/1 on Kohler-Cadmore, who has been in the IPL this season, looks the play in this market.
Moving into the bowlers and the absence of Shaheen Shah Afridi has really opened this one up and while Haris Rauf is the favourite he either takes wickets or goes the distance with seemingly no in between. I’ve already tipped up David Payne as an outsider to be the leading bowler in the tournament and I’ve seen nothing to think that isn’t a runner but with so many options you just don’t know who bowls where in this thing so I’ll sit on that outright ticket without getting involved in another bet.
Tips
Back T.Kohler-Cadmore Top Welsh Fire Batter for a 2/10 stake at 4.00 with Bet365
