Matt Short stars as Welsh Fire beat Southern Brave to go level at top of table

Matt Short anchored a tricky chase with an unbeaten 41-ball 60 as Welsh Fire overcame a testing surface and Southern Brave's quality pace attack to secure a five-wicket win in Cardiff, moving level with Trent Rockets on 16 points at the top of The Hundred table. Fire's fourth win in five matches made them significantly more likely to not only make the playoffs but also to finish first and directly advance to the final. Southern Brave, on the other hand, must now win their final two league games in order to qualify, as the defeat leaves their chances of doing so in doubt. Having elected to bowl, Welsh Fire's experienced seam attack made full use of the conditions. Chris Woakes and Sam Cook struck inside the opening seven deliveries to reduce Brave to 2 for 2, with Jamie Smith and Ben McKinney both edging behind to Phil Salt. Scoring remained difficult as the ball continued to seam around. Cook found another edge, Salt completing his third catch of the inning to leave Brave at 45 for 3 at the halfway point. Marcus Stoinis and Nikhil Chaudhary attempted to rebuild, but only managed a cautious recovery. Rachin Ravindra then tightened Fire's grip on the contest. The left-arm spinner took Tristan Stubbs and Moeen Ali off successive deliveries by turning sharply from the surface. With wickets falling regularly and boundaries proving scarce, Southern Brave struggled to build momentum. Stoinis alone managed to break the shackles. The Australian all-rounder struck a 35-ball half-century and briefly threatened to lift his side to a competitive total before Sam Cook returned to dismiss him, finishing with excellent figures of 3 for 14. Brave eventually finished with 115 for 8, the lowest total in their Hundred history, with Short picking up a couple of wickets as well. There was early hope of a defence when Jofra Archer dismissed Salt cheaply and conceded nothing until his eighth delivery, but Fire resisted any panic. Short and Root instead focused on putting together a measured 56-un partnership that steadily shifted the chase in Fire's favour. Chris Jordan eventually took root, and Southern Brave emerged shortly after Ravindra and Jordan Cox left quickly. But Short remained unfazed. Judging the conditions superbly, he mixed calculated aggression with smart strike rotation, using the scoop and ramp effectively against the pace bowlers. Before finding the perfect partner in Tom Kohler-Cadmore, whose unbeaten 23 ensured that there were no further alarms, he reached his fifty from 37 deliveries.