The Hundred 2023: Tymal Mills hat-trick inspires Southern Brave to easy victory
- Published
Mills takes hat-trick against Welsh Fire
The Hundred men's competition, Sophia Gardens |
Welsh Fire 87 (100 balls): Eskinazi 38 (33); Mills 4-13, Garton 3-8 |
Southern Brave 91-1 (59 balls): Conway 35* (25), Allen 31 (22) |
Southern Brave won by nine wickets |
A hat-trick from Southern Brave bowler Tymal Mills helped clinch a nine-wicket victory over Welsh Fire.
An early collapse from the Fire saw them fall to 16-3, before Mills took four wickets, including an end-of-innings hat-trick.
With the Brave set just 88 to win, Finn Allen got them off to a flying start with 31 off 22 balls.
Allen's fellow New Zealand opener Devon Conway scored 35 to help seal victory with 41 balls to spare.
Root's scoop leads plays of the day
What else do you need to know?
Jonny Bairstow made his first appearance at this year's Hundred, but his stint with the bat was short-lived, being removed for a fourth-ball duck by Craig Overton.
In Joe Clarke's fifth match of the tournament, he was also removed for a fourth-ball duck by George Garton. That is the third time in this year's tournament that Clarke has been dismissed without scoring a run.
Welsh Fire's score of just 87 was their lowest ever in the history of The Hundred. Their previous lowest total was 91, scored in a 2021 defeat to Birmingham Phoenix.
Tymal Mills becomes the second men's player in the history of The Hundred to take a hat-trick. The only other was Imran Tahir for Birmingham Phoenix in 2021, also against Welsh Fire. It is also Mills' 31st birthday.
The win for Southern Brave takes them from sixth in the table up to third, climbing above Welsh Fire on net run-rate.
Southern Brave had a depleted side due to injury and illness, with captain James Vince among those absent. Because of this, The Hundred changed their rules over squad eligibility and allowed Brave to call up Colin Ackermann for one match only.
'A nice birthday present' - what they said
Southern Brave bowler Tymal Mills on BBC Two: "I don't like to shout about it but it was a nice day and a nice [birthday] present.
"We've had a scratchy start, a game rained off, a close win, a close loss, got hammered by the Superchargers. We needed a win, we've got a few players sick and injured, we don't play now until Wednesday so hopefully we can get some players back.
"James Vince is locked up in his room, he spent all day yesterday in bed and spent today in bed as well. Hopefully he is able to come back to Southampton with us.
"In a way, we'd like to play again quickly after a performance like that."
Welsh Fire batter Stevie Eskinazi on BBC Two: "They bowled really nicely. It was a tough night, but we will move on quickly.
"It's tricky, we played on a pretty good surface last week. We have to dust ourselves pretty quickly and move on.
"It's about bringing our A-game, we've got some dangerous cricketers."