The Hundred Men's Competition 2021 Match 32: Welsh Fire vs London Spirit - Preview, predicted XIs, match prediction, weather forecast and pitch report
The Welsh Fire and London Spirit are set to face each other in Match No. 32 of the Men’s Hundred on Wednesday, August 18. Sophia Gardens in Cardiff will play host to this match.
Both the Fire and the Spirit have faced elimination already and the upcoming encounter is nothing but a dead rubber. However, the loser of the match will end up as the cellar dwellers of the inagural edition of the tournament.
The Welsh Fire started with two wins, but haven’t won a single game since Jonny Bairstow left the team owing to international duty. Captained by Ben Duckett, the side are on a five-match losing streak and are currently placed seventh in the points table. In their previous game, table-toppers Southern Brave beat them by eight wickets.
The London Spirit, on the other hand, have looked awry, to say the least. Barring their six-run win over Manchester Originals, Eoin Morgan’s men have had a campaign equivalent to a nightmare. In their previous match, they lost to the Oval Invincibles by two wickets. If they manage to win this last match, the London Spirit have a chance of finishing sixth.
Match Details
Match: Welsh Fire vs London Spirit, The Hundred Men 2021
Date: August 18, 2021 (Wednesday)
Time: 11:00 PM (IST)
Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Weather Report
Conditions will be cloudy, but with no chance of rain as of now. Temperatures will hover between 17 and 19 degrees Celsius during the course of the match. The humidity will be in the 60s.
Pitch Report
The average score of 151 on this wicket suggests that a fairly high-scoring game is on the cards. Two of the three games have gone in favor of the team batting second in Cardiff. Therefore, chasing should be the way forward.
Predicted Playing XIs
Welsh Fire
Ben Duckett is the leading run-scorer for the Welsh Fire in the Men’s Hundred. The southpaw has scored 226 runs with two half-centuries. But he hasn’t got much support from the others. Qais Ahmed picked up a four-fer in his first Welsh Fire outing, but hasn’t looked at his best by any means since then.
Predicted XI: David Lloyd, Tom Banton (w), Ian Cockbain, Ben Duckett (c), Glenn Phillips, Leus du Plooy, James Neesham, Graeme White, Qais Ahmad, Luke Fletcher, David Payne
London Spirit
Adam Rossington and Josh Inglis have given the London Spirit some decent starts, but neither has got a half-century as yet. Eoin Morgan is their top run-getter, but his form has been a matter of concern as well in recent times. Barring Bradley Wheal’s solitary four-fer, the London Spirit’s bowling has been shambolic as well.
Predicted XI: Adam Rossington (w), Joe Denly, Josh Inglis, Joe Cracknell, Eoin Morgan (c), Ravi Bopara, David Wiese, Roelof van der Merwe, Blake Cullen, Bradley Wheal, Mason Crane
Match Prediction
Both the Welsh Fire and the London Spirit have struggled to consistently put on decent shows in The Hundred. But the Fire seem to have a stronger, in-form batting unit than that of the Spirit. This should make the Duckett-led side favorites to end their campaign on a high.
TV and live streaming details
TV: N/A
Live Streaming: Fancode