Welsh Fire’s batting has failed to take off this season with the bowlers doing the heavy lifting. The batting struggle puts them under extra pressure when they host Birmingham Phoenix in a Men’s Hundred match at Cardiff on Saturday. Phoenix are just one point and one place ahead in the points table but their lineup looks more balanced and the key players are in form.

LAST 5 MATCHES

WELSH FIRE: L L W L NR

BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX: L W W L W

THE LIKELY PLAYING XIs FOR WELSH FIRE AND BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX

WELSH FIRE likely XI

Batters: Tom Abell, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Glenn Phillips, Ross Whiteley

Allrounders: Luke Wells, David Willey

Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow, Joe Clarke

Bowlers: David Payne, Matt Henry, Haris Rauf

BIRMINGHAM PHOENIX likely XI

Batters: Ben Duckett, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell

Allrounders: Moeen Ali, Dan Mousley, Benny Howell

Wicketkeeper: Jamie Smith

Bowlers: Sean Abbott, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Chris Wood

Statistical Performance (Welsh Fire)

1. Jonny Bairstow

Welsh Fire’s batting has looked off colour this season with only Jonny Bairstow scoring more than 100 runs in this year’s Hundred, including a fifty.

JONNY BAIRSTOW IN THE HUNDRED

INNINGS - 12

RUNS - 321

AVERAGE – 29.18

STRIKE RATE – 125.39

50s/100s – 3/0

2. Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf playing in his second season of The Hundred has been pretty impressive. This edition the Pakistani pacer has already picked nine wickets off four matches.

HARIS RAUF IN THE HUNDRED

INNINGS - 10

WICKETS - 14

STRIKE RATE – 11.92

ECONOMY RATE – 6.79

AVERAGE – 13.50

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Welsh Fire)

1. Matt Henry

Matt Henry along with Haris Rauf make a potent bowling combination for Fire. In four matches this season, he has picked six wickets, with best bowling figures of 3 for 19.

2. David Willey

David Willey starred with the ball in Welsh Fire’s opening game and so far in the season he has picked six wickets and his best figures being 3 for 14. He is a handy batter down the order too.

Statistical Performance (Birmingham Phoenix)

1. Ben Duckett

Birmingham Phoenix opener Ben Duckett has looked in good nick and has scored 156 runs in three matches including a knock of 92, his highest score in the tournament.

BEN DUCKETT IN THE HUNDRED

INNINGS - 26

RUNS - 778

AVERAGE – 33.82

STRIKE RATE - 143.01

50s/100s – 4/0

2. Tim Southee

Tim Southee, the veteran Kiwi bowler has been amongst wickets this season and has already claimed eight wickets from five matches. In Phoenix last match he was the Player of the Match for his figures of 3 for 15.

TIM SOUTHEE IN THE HUNDRED

INNINGS - 6

WICKETS - 11

STRIKE RATE – 10.90

ECONOMY RATE – 6.35

AVERAGE – 11.54

Players Who Can Make a Difference (Birmingham Phoenix)

1. Jacob Bethell

With 111 runs in five matches, Jacob Bethell is one of the leading run-scorers for the Phoenix this edition, which is also his debut Hundred season.

2. Liam Livingstone

Liam Livingstone is yet to take the 2024 Hundred season by storm but his all-round ability is well known to everyone. His big-hitting skills makes him the dark horse in Saturday’s match in Cardiff.

Team Head to Head

Both teams have played three matches against each other in The Hundred, with Birmingham Phoenix having won two matches and Welsh Fire one.

FIRE V PHOENIX - HEAD TO HEAD RECORD

MATCHES: 3

FIRE WON: 1

PHOENIX WON: 2

NO RESULT: 0

Venue and Pitch

Sophia Gardens in Cardiff has hosted 15 matches in the Men’s Hundred, of which 12 times teams winning the toss have opted to bowl. The average first innings score at this venue is 131 and in the second innings is 122. The highest score in Men’s Hundred at Cardiff is 165 and the lowest score is 85.

MATCH PREDICTION

Birmingham Phoenix looks a balanced side and would have an edge over Welsh Fire. Phoenix would have 70% chance to win the match.

Fantasy XI

Wicketkeeper: Jonny Bairstow

Batters: Ben Duckett (C), Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Tom Abell

Allrounders: Dan Mousley, Benny Howell, David Willey

Bowlers: Matt Henry, Haris Rauf (VC), Tim Southee

BACKUP PLAYERS:

BATTER – Glenn Phillips

BOWLER – Adam Milne

ALL-ROUNDER – Luke Wells

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