The Hundred 2023: Meet Southern Brave as Danni Wyatt & James Vince name players to watch
- Published
Danni Wyatt (left) and James Vince (right) have told us which players you should keep an eye on this year
The Hundred returns on 1 August, so how are Southern Brave shaping up ahead of the third season?
BBC Sport has spoken to players from their men's and women's teams and worked with data analysts CricViz to assess Brave's chances and key players.
Who are they?
Ground: The Ageas Bowl, Southampton
Men's captain: James Vince
Men's coach: Stephen Fleming
Women's captain: Anya Shrubsole
Women's coach: Charlotte Edwards
Previous record: Men: 2021 - champions; 2022 - seventh; Women: 2021 - runners-up; 2022 - runners-up
When are Southern Brave's fixtures?
Southern Brave fixtures in the 2023 Hundred | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Team | Date | Time (all times BST) | Venue |
Trent Rockets | 1 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Trent Bridge |
Welsh Fire | 4 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18;30 | Ageas Bowl |
Northern Superchargers | 6 August | Women at 11:00, Men at 14:30 | Ageas Bowl |
London Spirit | 8 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Lord's |
Welsh Fire | 12 August | Women at 14:30, Men at 18:00 | Sophia Gardens |
Birmingham Phoenix | 16 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Ageas Bowl |
Oval Invincibles | 19 August | Women at 14:30, Men at 18:00 | Ageas Bowl |
Manchester Originals | 23 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Emirates Old Trafford |
BBC coverage: Games in bold (see time column) are live on BBC TV & iPlayer, with every match having ball-by-ball commentary on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and BBC Sounds. The BBC Sport website and app will have live text updates, the TV/radio coverage, in-play video clips plus contributions from Hundred super fan community and all the best stats. |
How are they shaping up?
Tymal Mills took eight wickets in the 2021 Hundred as Southern Brave won the inaugural competition
BBC Sport has collaborated with data analysts CricViz to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each side.
Men's team
Brave made some big moves during the off-season and have gone all out on overseas batters - New Zealander Finn Allen is a fast scorer and complements James Vince and Devon Conway at the top of the order, two batters who like to get set.
Leus du Plooy impressed in an underwhelming Welsh Fire team last season and the Hungarian-South African left-hander brings much-needed quality to the middle order and allows Brave to pair left and right-handers should they wish to do so. Australian Tim David also returns to the south coast and will be hoping to deliver better returns than he did last season.
Their bowling was hampered by injury last term, but Chris Jordan and Tymal Mills return this year after spearheading the Brave attack to victory in 2021. Craig Overton's new-ball wicket-taking exploits in the Blast will complement Jordan and Mills, two bowlers that prefer bowling at the death. James Fuller has a great record at the Ageas Bowl with both bat and ball, bringing balance to Stephen Fleming's side.
The lack of experience in their spin duo, Rehan Ahmed and Jafer Chohan, could be an area that teams look to exploit.
Women's team
Southern Brave have once again recruited Indian superstar left-handed batter Smriti Mandhana to lead their batting line-up. She is once again joined by Danni Wyatt who is at the peak of her powers after a spellbinding Ashes series with the bat. The pair will be well complemented by the lower-order power of Chloe Tryon and the skill of Maia Bouchier who will make the back-to-back runners-up strong contenders with bat in hand.
With the ball, Brave will be looking to the new-ball swing of the soon-to-retire Anya Shrubsole and heir apparent Lauren Bell to make early inroads and rip the heart out of opposition batting orders. Expect to see Maitlan Brown and Freya Kemp applying pressure through the middle overs and exploiting the long boundaries of the Ageas Bowl to their favour.
Who do the players think you should keep an eye on?
Freya Kemp has played 11 times for England but suffered a back stress fracture in December
BBC Sport spoke to a player from each men's and women's team and asked them to pick two key players to watch and about their chances this year.
Southern Brave captain James Vince: "I'll say Rehan Ahmed, he's sort of our main spinner this year so it will be a good opportunity. I'm also going to say Tim David, just because of how destructive he can be. He will play a big role if he comes in good form.
"I'm nice and positive ahead of the new competition. We didn't have our best year last season but we had to deal with a few injuries and setbacks. Hopefully, with a fully fit squad, which is very similar to the year when we won it in the first, we can get back there."
Southern Brave opener Danni Wyatt: "The first one is Freya Kemp, definitely. She's been unlucky with her recent injury, but she's looking very, very good in the nets. I'm really excited to see how she can perform with the bat especially. If she can bowl a few overs for us, that would be a great bonus.
"Also Maia Bouchier, she's come on leaps and bounds over the last 12 months, so I'm really excited to see what she can bring to the table.
"We've got a very good chance again, we've got a very good squad. We've lost a great player in Sophia Dunkley but we've got the great addition of Chloe Tryon and Maitlan Brown who I've played with at Melbourne Renegades and I know how good of a player she is."
Where will they finish?
Now it's your turn to have your say. Pick how you think the men's and women's group-stage tables will finish and share them on social media using #BBCCricket, external.
Read about the other teams: Birmingham Phoenix, London Spirit, Manchester Originals, Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles, Trent Rockets, Welsh Fire.