Welsh Fire

Welsh Fire
Tân Cymreig
Personnel
Captain
Coach
Overseas players
OwnerGlamorgan County Cricket Club (50%), Washington Freedom (50%)
Team information
Colours  
Founded2019 (2019)
Home groundSophia Gardens
Capacity16,000
History
No. of titles0
Official website

The Hundred kit

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 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

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 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.

As part of the 2025 Hundred sale, the ECB gave Glamorgan County Cricket Club a 51% stake in the franchise with the remaining 49% sold in an auction process. Glamorgan County Cricket Club opted to sell 1% of their stake with Washington Freedom acquiring 50% of the franchise. They took operational control on 1 October 2025.[6][7]

Honours

Men's honours

The Hundred

  • 4th place: 2023 (highest finish)

Women's honours

The Hundred

Ground

Sophia Gardens

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

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

Women's side

No. Name Nationality Date of birth (age) Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
6Freya Kemp England21 April 2005Left-handedLeft-arm mediumEngland central contract
12Abi Norgrove England17 January 2006Right-handedRight-arm off break
13Georgia Voll Australia5 August 2003Right-handedRight-arm off breakOverseas player
86Ella McCaughan England26 September 2002Right-handedRight-arm leg break
All-rounders
10Orla Prendergast Ireland1 June 2002Right-handedRight-arm mediumOverseas player;
Replacement player
11Heather Graham Australia10 May 1996Right-handedRight-arm mediumOverseas player
27Niamh Holland England27 October 2004Right-handedRight-arm mediumWildcard player
35Georgia Wareham Australia26 May 1999Right-handedRight-arm leg breakOverseas player
77Sophie Devine New Zealand1 September 1989Right-handedRight-arm mediumCaptain;
Overseas player;
Ruled out through injury
—Fi Morris England31 January 1994Right-handedRight-arm off break
Wicket-keepers
8Sarah Bryce Scotland8 January 2000Right-handed—
17Rhianna Southby England16 October 2000Right-handed—
Pace bowlers
9Grace Potts England12 July 2002Right-handedRight-arm medium
37Em Arlott England23 February 1998Right-handedRight-arm medium
88Grace Thompson England30 May 2007Right-handedRight-arm medium
Spin bowlers
16Sophia Smale Wales8 December 2004Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodox
64Georgia Davis England3 June 1999Right-handedRight-arm off breakWildcard player

Men's side

No. Name Nationality Date of birth (age) Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batters
2Matthew Short Australia8 November 1995Right-handedRight-arm off breakOverseas player
22Jordan Cox England21 October 2000Right-handedRight-arm off break
32Tom Kohler-Cadmore England19 August 1994Right-handedRight-arm off break
55Asa Tribe Jersey29 March 2004Right-handedRight-arm off break
66Joe Root England30 December 1990Right-handedRight-arm off breakEngland central contract
All-rounders
8Ben Kellaway Wales5 January 2004Right-handedRight-arm off break
Slow left-arm orthodox
17Rachin Ravindra New Zealand18 November 1999Left-handedSlow left-arm orthodoxOverseas player
70Marco Jansen South Africa1 May 2000Right-handedLeft-arm fast-mediumOverseas player
Wicket-keepers
61Phil Salt England26 August 1996Right-handedRight-arm off breakCaptain;
England central contract
Pace bowlers
7Jordan Clark England14 October 1990Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumWildcard player
16Sam Cook England4 August 1997Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
19Chris Woakes England2 March 1989Right-handedRight-arm fast-medium
69Lockie Ferguson New Zealand13 June 1991Right-handedRight-arm fastOverseas player
—Tom Aspinwall England13 March 2004Right-handedRight-arm medium
—Dillon Pennington England26 February 1999Right-handedRight-arm fast-mediumWildcard player
Spin bowlers
—Jafer Chohan England11 July 2002Right-handedRight-arm leg break

Seasons

Women's team

Season Group stage Playoff stage Ref.
Pld W L T NR Pts Pos Pld Pos
20218260048thDid not progress[8]
20226150028thDid not progress[9]
202385201113rd1[a]3rd[10]
202485201111st1[b]2nd[11]
20258170048thDid not progress[12]
202684400165thDid not progress[13]

Men's team

Season Group stage Playoff stage Ref.
Pld W L T NR Pts Pos Pld Pos
20218350067thDid not progress[14]
20228080008thDid not progress[15]
20238431094thDid not progress[16]
20248240266thDid not progress[17]
20258260088thDid not progress[18]
202684400165thDid not progress[19]

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

    References

    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. ↑ "ECB finalises deals with strategic partners in The Hundred, unlocking hundreds of millions of pounds for game-wide growth". ECB. 30 July 2025. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
    7. ↑ Abraham, Timothy (31 January 2025). "American team owner takes £40m stake in Welsh Fire". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
    8. ↑ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
    9. ↑ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
    10. ↑ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
    11. ↑ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.
    12. ↑ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2025". espncricinfo.com.
    13. ↑ "The Hundred Women's Competition 2026". espncricinfo.com.
    14. ↑ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2021". espncricinfo.com.
    15. ↑ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2022". espncricinfo.com.
    16. ↑ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2023". espncricinfo.com.
    17. ↑ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2024". espncricinfo.com.
    18. ↑ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2025". espncricinfo.com.
    19. ↑ "The Hundred Men's Competition 2026". espncricinfo.com.

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