Phil Salt steers Welsh Fire past Brave in tight Hundred chase
Phil Salt steered Welsh Fire to a six-wicket win over Southern Brave in The Hundred, finishing unbeaten on 47 as Fire chased 136 with two balls to spare in Southampton on July 22. His composed knock, capped by a midwicket six off Chris Jordan, delivered Fire's first win over Brave in nine attempts.
Key Takeaways
- Welsh Fire chased 136 to finish 138 for 4, winning by six wickets with two balls left at the Utilita Bowl.
- Phil Salt was Meerkat Match Hero with an unbeaten 47 from 37 balls, sealing victory with a midwicket six off Chris Jordan.
- Southern Brave posted 135 for 7, led by David Miller (44) and Thomas Rew (41 from 30 on debut in the competition).
- Fire's seam trio of Chris Woakes, Sam Cook and Marco Jansen conceded just 72 from 60 balls on a tacky, two-paced pitch.
- The result opened Fire's 2026 account and delivered their first win over Brave in nine attempts.
On a low-scoring night that still finished on a knife-edge, Salt's calm under pressure mattered more than fireworks. Welsh Fire always looked ahead in the chase, yet Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer nearly dragged Brave back before Salt and Asa Tribe closed it out.
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How did Phil Salt win the game for Welsh Fire?
Salt batted through the chase after Fire elected to bowl first—a toss he later called a good one to win. He punched an unbeaten 47 from 37 balls, breaking the back of the pursuit and finishing the job when the asking rate briefly tightened.
His third-wicket stand of 49 with Rachin Ravindra (24 from 16) looked to have settled the contest. When Ravindra holed out to Nikhil Chaudhary's leg-spin, though, Fire stuttered toward the line.
With 20 balls left, Fire needed only 19. Rashid's final five balls went for a single, lifting a crowd of 8,452. Archer's next 10 deliveries leaked just nine, leaving nine required from five. Salt's coolness, plus a clubbed boundary from Tribe, got Fire home.
The winning blow was vintage Salt: he cleared the ropes at midwicket from a length ball by Jordan, securing victory with two balls remaining. Full scoreboard detail is in the ESPNcricinfo match report.
Why was Southern Brave's total of 135 so hard to defend?
Bowling first on a tacky surface, Fire were superbly disciplined. Woakes, Cook and Jansen varied their pace expertly and shackled Brave's attempts to break free, conceding 72 from their combined 60 balls.
Cook set the tone with a leg-cutter that bowled Jamie Smith. Opener Ben McKinney then fell to a boundary catch from Ravindra, bringing Miller together with 18-year-old Thomas Rew.
Rew made a sparkling 41 from 30 in his maiden Hundred innings. Miller took time to size up the pitch—18 balls for his first 10 runs—before Tristan Stubbs fell for 4 to a brilliant boundary catch from Ben Kellaway.
Miller then accelerated, adding 34 from his next 17 balls, but was run out by a bullet throw from Ravindra off the penultimate ball. A final 135 for 7 looked challenging on a two-paced pitch; Salt's class proved the difference.
What did Phil Salt say after Welsh Fire's maiden win over Brave?
Named Meerkat Match Hero, Salt stressed how hard the conditions were and how important it was to bat deep. "It certainly wasn't easy out there. That was a good toss to win for us, to be chasing a target, and we're really pleased with the outcome," he said.
He credited his view from behind the stumps when keeping, then added that in low-scoring games you have to go deeper into the innings for impact. Ravindra's knock, he said, was "massively important" while Salt dropped anchor and the pair got the required rate near a run a ball.
"We were electric in the field. There was some real good catching on display. Bowling-wise we put the ball in the right areas," Salt added. "I feel like we do have a bit more in the tank in all departments. I'm really enjoying the group of lads we've got."
Where does this leave Welsh Fire in The Hundred 2026?
Fire finished bottom of the standings last summer and entered the fixture with a poor recent record against Brave, according to pre-match form notes. Assembling a squad led by England T20 opener Salt, they opened their 2026 account with a determined all-round display and a maiden win over Brave.
Salt's game awareness turned a tight contest. Fire always had the edge, yet the late squeeze from Rashid and Archer showed how quickly The Hundred can flip. Closing with composure—and that midwicket six—mattered as much as the earlier control with ball and in the field.
The men's result sat in a Southampton double-header. Earlier, Southern Brave women edged Welsh Fire by eight runs after Sophie Molineux took three wickets in a comeback defence of 127, with Georgia Voll's 52 from 39 almost enough for Fire before the hosts closed out at 118 for 8.
For Fire men, the takeaway is clearer: Salt can anchor a chase on a difficult surface, the seam attack can choke a batting group, and a long losing run against Brave is finally broken. That combination is exactly why Salt's unbeaten 47 will travel as the defining image of this low-scoring tussle.