Phil Salt weathered a bowling storm from England fast bowler Jofra Archer as the Welsh Fire captain led his side to a six-wicket victory over Southern Brave in The Hundred.
The win snapped Fire’s eight-match losing streak against Brave, with Salt carrying the team over the line in dramatic fashion.
After being set a target of 135 to win, Fire found themselves needing 14 runs off 10 balls at the end of their innings, and Salt, alongside Asa Tribe, showed his composure to whittle down the tally.
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After being set a target of 135 to win, Fire’s Phil Salt whittled down the run chase and secured victory with a six
Salt, who struck an unbeaten 47 off 37 deliveries, found himself on strike with only four runs left to win from three deliveries, and the captain swept away Chris Jordan for a big six to wrap up the victory.
“The conditions weren’t easy. It was a good toss for us to win and chasing the target, we knew what it was,” Salt told Sky Sports.
“We were electric in the field. There was some real good catching on display. We got off the rope well today. Bowling-wise, we put the ball in the right areas. Did we do it for long enough? Were we smart enough? That’s one for the coaches.”
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David Miller (44) and Thomas Rew (41) struck the highest individual scores for the Brave
Brave started slowly, with Sam Cook first snaring Jamie Smith for three runs, before Marco Jansen had Ben McKinney for four.
Thomas Rew (41) and David Miller (44) steadied the ship, before Jansen hit back with his second of the match to dismiss the former off 30 balls.
Archer came to the crease but was run out in the most bizarre of circumstances. Miller had struck a ball to Jansen at cover, and the England seamer had attempted to get up for a single, but his batting partner sent him back, turning in a circle in the middle of the wicket as Fire made the pair pay for their miscommunication.
Salt and Matthew Short arrived at the crease after the intermission, with Short bringing up a score of 20 before being caught out at extra cover by Dan Worrall.
Worrall was back in on the action again, combining with Smith to dismiss England legend Joe Root for 15 runs.
Former England captain Joe Root was dismissed for 15 runs after he was run out by Dan Worrall and Jamie Smith
Rachin Ravindra arrived at the crease, and it was here that the Fire kicked on, with he and Salt bringing up an impressive partnership of 49 runs off 27 balls.
“It’s great to play a role in a partnership,” Ravindra said to Sky Sports. “Communication was key out there between us. Salty played well out there. It wasn’t such a free-flowing T20 wicket as we’re used to seeing.
“He supported me greatly during that partnership, and it’s great to see the skipper finish it off at the end.
“We’re all used to seeing that free-flowing Phil Salt, aren’t we? The comms were mostly just about hitting good cricket shots, trusting our positions, hitting the gaps hard and running hard, and the boundaries would come.
“Salty is such a special player but showed his maturity and leadership to keep us accountable ball after ball.”
What’s next?
Thursday’s Hundred double-header comes from Lord’s in London as London Spirit take on Manchester Super Giants. The women’s game starts at 2.45pm, with the men’s match due to commence from 6.30pm. Catch both fixtures live on Sky Sports and on YouTube. Watch The Hundred and more contract-free on NOW
