We are just four weeks away from the start of the third edition of the Hundred competition in England. Eight franchises will compete in a month-long tournament to become the champions of this unique 100-ball tournament. This competition will host 34 matches, and the first game will take place between the Trent Rockets and the Southern Brave on August 1.
The final of the competition will take place on August 5 at Lord’s. Welsh Fire is one of the eight franchises in this competition, which will start its tournament on August 4 (Friday) against Southern Brave. Welse team is based on the English city of Cardiff. It represents three counties in the Hundred: Glamorgan, Gloucestershire, and Somerset. This team plays home matches at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Welsh Fire Complete Squad
Welsh Fire picked some of the biggest names to play for them in this competition. Jonny Bairstow is the central contracted pick on the team. Tom Abell will be seen captaining the team once again. Former Australia star and “Mr. Cricket,” Michael Hussey, is the head coach of the game. The franchise picked up eight superstars in the draft 2023. The biggest signing they made was the Pakistani pace duo of Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf.
They have certainly added firepower to their weak pace attack from last season. David Willey and Roelof van der Merwe are another pair of seasonal performers that they have added to their team. Buttler will be assisted with the power-hitters like Ollie Pope, Tom Abell, and Joe Clarke. They have also re-picked dangerous Kiwi batter Glenn Phillips, who smashed a century in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Squad: Jonny Bairstow (central contract), Joe Clarke, Ollie Pope, Tom Abell (captain), David Willey, Shaheen Afridi, Glenn Phillips, Haris Rauf, Roelof van der Merwe, Stevie Eskinazi, Dan Douthwaite, Jake Ball, George Scrimshaw, David Payne
Retained Players: Jonny Bairstow (central contract), Ollie Pope, David Payne, Joe Clarke, Jake Ball, George Scrimshaw
Draft Picks: Tom Abell, David Willey, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Glenn Phillips, Stevie Eskinazi, Roelof van der Merwe, Dan Douthwaite
Released: Tom Banton, David Miller, Adam Zampa, Ben Duckett, Dwaine Pretorius, Sam Hain, Noor Ahmad, Ryan Higgins, Leus du Plooy, Matt Critchley, Jacob Bethell, Josh Cobb, Naseem Shah, Ish Sodhi
Welsh Fire: Top Performers (Batting)
Ben Duckett was the highest run scorer for the Welsh Fire with 220 runs in 2022. But not one person reached even 120 runs. Bairstow didn’t play last season due to injury, so they will hope that he can play in the coming season, which will help boost the confidence of the team.
| Batter | Span | Mts | Runs | HS | Avg | 50/100 |
| Ben Duckett | 2021-2022 | 16 | 452 | 65 | 30.13 | 3/0 |
| Leus du Plooy | 2021-2022 | 10 | 237 | 43 | 26.33 | 0/0 |
| Glenn Phillips | 2021-2021 | 8 | 214 | 80 | 35.66 | 2/0 |
| Tom Banton | 2021-2022 | 14 | 179 | 44 | 12.78 | 0/0 |
| Matt Critchley | 2021-2022 | 10 | 151 | 55* | 30.20 | 1/0 |
Welsh Fire: Top Performers (Bowling)
The bowling didn’t go well last season for Welsh Fire; Jake Ball was the highest wicket-taker with only 8 wickets. That is why the franchise picked the likes of Shaheen, Haris, and Van der Merwe.
| Bowler | Span | Mts | Wkts | BBI | Econ | 4/5 |
| Jake Ball | 2021-2022 | 11 | 10 | 4/29 | 8.65 | 1/0 |
| David Payne | 2021-2022 | 15 | 10 | 3/38 | 9.85 | 0/0 |
| Qais Ahmad | 2021-2021 | 8 | 8 | 4/13 | 7.31 | 1/0 |
| James Neesham | 2021-2021 | 7 | 7 | 3/5 | 9.07 | 0/0 |
| Matt Critchley | 2021-2022 | 10 | 7 | 1/18 | 8.80 | 0/0 |
The Hundred all Team Squad
| Trent Rockets Squad | Oval Invincibles Squad |
| Northern Superchargers Squad | Manchester Originals Squad |
| London Spirit Squad | Welsh Fire Squad |
| Birmingham Phoenix Squad | Southern Brave Squad |