The Hundred 2023: Meet Welsh Fire as Tammy Beaumont & Tom Abell name players to watch
- Published
Tammy Beaumont (left) and Tom Abell (right) have told us which players you should keep an eye on this year
The Hundred returns on 1 August, but how are Welsh Fire shaping up ahead of the third season?
BBC Sport has spoken to a player from their men's and women's teams and worked with data analysts CricViz to assess Fire's chances and key players.
Who are Welsh Fire?
Ground: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Men's captain: Tom Abell
Men's coach: Mike Hussey
Women's captain: Tammy Beaumont
Women's coach: Gareth Breese
Previous record: Men: 2021 - seventh; 2022 - eighth; Women: 2021 - eighth; 2022 - eighth
When are Welsh Fire's fixtures?
Welsh Fire fixtures in the 2023 Hundred | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Team | Date | Time (all times BST) | Venue |
Manchester Originals | 2 August | Women at 11:30, Men at 15:00 | Sophia Gardens |
Southern Brave | 4 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Ageas Bowl |
Oval Invincibles | 6 August | Women at 14:30, Men at 18:00 | Kia Oval |
Birmingham Phoenix | 10 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Edgbaston |
Southern Brave | 12 August | Women at 14:30, Men at 18:00 | Sophia Gardens |
Trent Rockets | 14 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Sophia Gardens |
London Spirit | 20 August | Women at 14:30, Men at 18:00 | Sophia Gardens |
Northern Superchargers | 22 August | Women at 15:00, Men at 18:30 | Clean Slate Headingley |
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?
Alex Hartley took four wickets for Welsh Fire in 2022
BBC Sport has worked with data analysts CricViz to look at the strengths and weaknesses of each side.
Men's team
Fire added Stephen Eskinazi, Tom Abell and Glenn Phillips to their batting line-up during the draft, securing three high-quality batters who should be able to provide runs in the middle order, an area where they've severely lacked production over the past couple of years.
The engine room should have the cushion of fast starts from Jonny Bairstow and Joe Clarke at the top as well as hitting depth provided by the likes of David Willey, Shaheen Afridi and Roelof van der Merwe.
The lack of a high quality left-hander is perhaps their only major concern, particularly limiting their ability to exploit lopsided boundaries should the opportunity arise.
The draft also saw Fire add plenty of quality with the ball. Left-armers Shaheen and Willey should trouble batters with new ball movement, and a high-pace combination of Pakistan's Shaheen and compatriot Haris Rauf should see an improvement at the death.
Fire will be hoping their finger spinners, like left-armer van der Merwe and off-spinner Phillips, can make use of the square boundaries at Cardiff, although they could be hurt by the lack of a true frontline leg spinner who turns it both ways.
Women's team
Fire picked Sophia Dunkley with the first pick during the draft back in March. The England opener had plenty of success opening the batting for Southern Brave but will have to adapt to the challenge of batting at Sophia Gardens.
Fellow England opener Tammy Beaumont joins Dunkley, Hayley Matthews and Laura Harris to provide a power packed batting line-up that should perform better after struggling last year.
The fastest bowler in the world and two-time Hundred winner Shabnim Ismail moves across from Oval Invincibles to bring some heat to the Fire bowling.
Left-arm spinner Alex Hartley and off-spinner Hayley Matthews are both capable of bowling at the top of the innings and at the death and bring added flexibility to the Fire attack.
The likes of Freya Davies, Georgia Elwiss and Emily Windsor all provide valuable skills alongside the Fire's big names.
Who do the players think you should keep an eye on?
Freya Davies has joined from London Spirit, having taken 10 wickets across the first two years of the competition
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.
Welsh Fire captain Tom Abell: "I'm going to go Stephen Eskinazi and Joe Clarke. Hopefully they will bring us good starts. I think both are quality T20 openers so there will be a lot of entertainment at the top of our order.
"There's obviously been a bit of an overhaul for this season but we've assembled a really strong squad and we've got all bases covered. I just see it as a fresh start and a huge opportunity for us to try and bring some success to Cardiff."
Welsh Fire captain Tammy Beaumont: "For me, overseas player Laura Harris. People probably don't know that much about her. I know she was at the Northern Superchargers a couple of years ago, but I think she's really kicked on and at Cardiff, the Sophia Gardens isn't going to be big enough for her, so she's one to watch, definitely.
"Freya Davies as well, she's a brilliant signing. I can't believe we've actually got her! On a wicket like Cardiff, she's going to be really key to getting the stumps in play, she's going to be a real key wicket-taker for us.
"Last year was really disappointing, but there were some positives to take away. We've recruited really well and we've got some brilliant people so I'm really excited to see how we go. Hopefully this year we won't be bottom, won't get the wooden spoon. I'm sick of getting wooden spoons in franchise tournaments."
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, Southern Brave, Trent Rockets.