The Hundred: Welsh Fire reach new low with expensive flops and a lack of Welsh stars

Welsh Fire men have won three out of 16 games in the Hundred

There were worrying signs for Welsh Fire before a ball had been bowled in the Hundred.

In 2019, two years before the pandemic-delayed first edition of the competition, Welsh Fire men's coach Gary Kirsten tweeted: "Can't wait for The Hundred Draft and to pick the [insert team name] squad."

It was an inauspicious start for the Cardiff-based franchise under the South African, who arrived in Wales with considerable coaching pedigree after winning the World Cup with India and working in numerous Twenty20 leagues around the world.

Three years later, not much seems to have improved for Welsh Fire.

Kirsten has overseen two abysmal Hundred campaigns for the men's team, who plumbed new depths this season by losing all eight of their matches.

The women have not fared much better. New coach Gareth Breese led them to just one win from six this year, having taken charge of a side who mustered only two from eight to finish bottom of the table in their first season.

Even after setting a low bar for themselves, Welsh Fire have reached a nadir.

Big guns misfiring

After a disappointing first season in which they finished second from bottom, Welsh Fire's men pinned their hopes on two young English batters by using their top two picks in the draft to sign Joe Clarke and Tom Banton for £125,000 each.

Between them, however, Clarke and Banton scored a meagre 185 runs across 14 innings, averaging 12.75 and 13.83.

Their overseas headliner with the bat, South Africa's David Miller, joined having won the Indian Premier League with Gujarat Titans in May - but averaged a mere 12.16 in the Hundred.

The underachievement of Welsh Fire's big hitters was particularly damaging because the batting line-up had already been weakened by England star Jonny Bairstow's withdrawal just days before the competition started.

Individually, players were out of form. Collectively, they failed to reach 150 in any innings.

There were similar shortcomings for Welsh Fire's women. Rachael Haynes, a World Cup winner with Australia, was one of their top picks at £31,250 but averaged only 8.75.

Last season's leading run scorer Hayley Matthews opened the batting with new signing Tammy Beaumont - another World Cup winner with England - to give their team some strong starts.

But they kept faltering at key moments, such as a run chase at Manchester Originals which came off the rails when victory seemed to be there for the taking.

There were a handful of defeats from promising positions but those were the outliers; the vast majority of both sides' losses were crushingly one-sided.

Welsh Fire women were coached by Mark O'Leary in 2021

Where's the Welsh connection?

Claire Nicholas was a rarity in the Hundred this season: a Welsh cricketer playing for Welsh Fire.

The spinner was her team's leading wicket taker, claiming six for 99 runs across six matches at a decent economy rate of 7.42.

While compatriot Alex Griffiths was also in the women's squad, Nicholas was the only player to actually feature this year.

They were not the only Welsh women in the competition, though.

Sophia Smale, a 17-year-old spinner from Newport, has taken five wickets at an average of 19.20 from her five matches so far for Oval Invincibles, who are in contention to reach the final.

Considering that Invincibles only picked up Smale as an injury replacement, some at Welsh Fire may view her as one who got away.

As for the men's side, there was no Welsh representation whatsoever.

Glamorgan captain David Lloyd was included in Welsh Fire's inaugural squad but not retained this year, while fellow Welshman Prem Sisodiya was another who missed out on a contract in the Hundred.

Josh Cobb, Northamptonshire's all-rounder with similar T20 career averages to Lloyd, was kept on and given the captaincy this year but averaged just 6.42 with the bat.

The two Glamorgan players who did get Hundred contracts were Michael Hogan with reigning champions Southern Brave and Timm van der Gugten at Birmingham Phoenix.

Whether or not Welsh or Glamorgan players would have had a major bearing on results, they would have helped foster a greater bond between Welsh Fire and their fledgling fanbase.

For all the ill-feeling and indifference from some towards the Hundred, the competition has attracted new audiences to cricket in Wales and England, and Sophia Gardens is one of the stadiums which has benefitted from larger crowds.

But a brief glance at social media is enough to show that many supporters are disillusioned by the lack of Welsh representation. "Not Welsh and not much fire," is a common refrain online and in the stands.

There is plenty of interest in the Hundred. In these early stages of the competition's development, a younger and more diverse new following presents cricket with a golden chance to broaden its appeal.

If Welsh Fire continue to wither on the field and struggle to maintain interest off it, however, they risk wasting that opportunity.