The Hundred: Northern Superchargers v Welsh Fire, Headingley
Superchargers chase 144 to win by eight wickets, with 11 balls to spare
Crawley hits sparkling unbeaten 67 off 38 balls; Malan strikes 41 off 29
Fire 143-9: Bairstow 42 (23); Rashid 2-25
Fire openers Bairstow and Smith put on 62 before visitors slump to 102-5
Friday's double header is between Birmingham Phoenix and Trent Rockets at Edgbaston
'Absolutely outrageous!' - Brook hits six on first ball
Kieran Parmley
Cricviz analyst
Northern Superchargers failed to register a 50-run opening partnership during the 2024 Hundred season and averaged just 17 for the first wicket - Malan and Crawley have made a good start in looking to rectify that.
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Wickets are the only thing that are going to save Welsh Fire today.
It seems like a good surface for the spinners. You have to bowl the ball into the pitch however and not go too full, like any pitch.
Target 144
A tight set from Chris Green. The Australia spinner concedes just three singles and a wide.
Henry Moeran
Test Match Special commentator on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Saif Zaib did well to get a hand on it but he ends up in a heap with his cap askew.
A bit like PJ and Duncan in the early nineties.
Target 144
Another expensive set. Dawid Malan follows up his six with a four. 12 from it.
Time for Chris Green.
Target 144
Dawid Malan sends the ball high into the sky and just over the head of the backpedalling Saif Zaib on the rope. A lovely effort from the fielder but he had no chance.
Target 144
Zak Crawley finishes the set with another boundary, spanking Josh Hull down the ground for four.
14 runs off the second set of the powerplay.
Target 144
Shot. Zak Crawley slaps Josh Hull for six.
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
A nice bit of timing. A little bit too full from Payne and Malan picked the gap nicely.
Target 144
David Payne is getting the ball to swing around.
Dawid Malan goes for a couple of hefty swings and misses before picking up his side's first boundary of the day, driving through cover for four.
Target 144
David Payne opens the bowling for Welsh Fire.
Zak Crawley is fortunate not to chop on, with the ball twice bouncing dangerously close to his stumps.
But before we get to Harry Brook, Welsh Fire will have to deal with Northern Superchargers' top three of Zak Crawley, Dawid Malan and Michael Pepper.
Superchargers need 144 to win after restricting Welsh Fire to 143-9.
Harry Brook scored a century against Welsh Fire in 2023.
Will he be among the runs again today?
Image source, Getty ImagesThanks Sam.
It all fell away for Welsh Fire.
Northern Superchargers will be confident of not only chasing 144 but also giving their net run rate a healthy boost.
Fire 143-9
Sam Drury
BBC Sport cricket writer
After Steve Smith and Jonny Bairstow took Welsh Fire to 62-0, I don't think anyone thought Northern Superchargers would be chasing as few as 144 to win this one.
But their bowlers battled back well. Two wickets for Adil Rashid, Matthew Potts and Imad Wasim means the home side are favourites to get the win.
Elizabeth Botcherby is here to take you through it.
Welsh Fire opening batter Steve Smith speaking on Sky Sports: "It has been good fun. I was feeling pretty good and had a nice partnership with Jonny [Bairstow]. But we lost a few wickets on the bounce. There was some hold in the wicket at times so let's see how we go."
"We will be trying to bowl wicket-taking deliveries and get some early wickets and then some cutters through the middle in good hard areas. Hopefully not too many boundaries. I am looking forward to fielding."
On being in Cardiff with the team: "It has been good. We went up into the mountains for some team bonding. It is a good bunch of guys so hopefully we have a good second half."
Four from the last ball, smashed back down the ground by Riley Meredith.
That will help Welsh Fire but just seven runs of the last five from Matthew Potts and Northern Superchargers will be happy at the halfway stage.
Potts started the fightback with by dismissing Steve Smith and Luke Wells in consecutive balls.
Numbers 10 and 11 for Welsh Fire, Riley Meredith and Josh Hull manage to at least take the visitors into the last five ball of the innings.
But given the start Jonny Bairstow and Steve Smith gave Fire, this looks like a very disappointing total.
Credit to Northern Superchargers for the way they've fought back.
Kieran Parmley
Cricviz analyst
Teams batting first at Headingley in the men's Hundred:
Alex Hartley
Former England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra
Chris Green got a bit lost walking off there. He was a bit angry with himself and needed a moment.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Smith,bowled Potts Smith, bowled Potts | 29 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 161.11 |
Bairstow,caught Crawley, bowled Rashid Bairstow, caught Crawley, bowled Rashid | 42 | 23 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 182.61 |
Wells,caught Pepper, bowled Potts Wells, caught Pepper, bowled Potts | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Abell,run out Crawley Abell, run out Crawley | 18 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 20 | 163.64 |
Kohler-Cadmore,bowled Lawes Kohler-Cadmore, bowled Lawes | 10 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 76.92 |
Zaib,caught Brook, bowled Imad Zaib, caught Brook, bowled Imad | 13 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 19 | 130.00 |
Walter,caught Crawley, bowled Rashid Walter, caught Crawley, bowled Rashid | 15 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 150.00 |
Green,caught Lawrence, bowled Amir Green, caught Lawrence, bowled Amir | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 75.00 |
Payne,bowled Imad Payne, bowled Imad | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Hull,not out Hull, not out | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 100.00 |
Meredith,not out Meredith, not out | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 140.00 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 3, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 3 Extras, no balls 0, wides 3, byes 0, leg byes 0, total 3 | |||||||
Total,143 for 9 100 balls Total,143 for 9 100 balls |
| Bowler | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Imad | 20 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7.80 |
Amir | 20 | 0 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 8.40 |
Lawes | 15 | 0 | 19 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7.60 |
Potts | 15 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10.40 |
Rashid | 20 | 0 | 25 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7.50 |
Lawrence | 10 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11.40 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
62 for 1 (37 balls) | Smith |
62 for 2 (38 balls) | Wells |
78 for 3 (44 balls) | Bairstow |
99 for 4 (62 balls) | Abell |
102 for 5 (68 balls) | Kohler-Cadmore |
125 for 6 (84 balls) | Walter |
132 for 7 (88 balls) | Zaib |
133 for 8 (90 balls) | Payne |
133 for 9 (92 balls) | Green |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawley,not out Crawley, not out | 67 | 38 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 70 | 176.32 |
Malan,caught Payne, bowled Meredith Malan, caught Payne, bowled Meredith | 41 | 29 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 38 | 141.38 |
Pepper,leg before wicket, bowled Meredith Pepper, leg before wicket, bowled Meredith | 4 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 57.14 |
Brook,not out Brook, not out | 25 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 20 | 166.67 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 7, byes 0, leg byes 3, total 10 Extras, no balls 0, wides 7, byes 0, leg byes 3, total 10 | |||||||
Total,147 for 2 89 balls Total,147 for 2 89 balls |
| Bowler | Balls | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Payne | 15 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 12.80 |
Hull | 15 | 0 | 26 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10.40 |
Green | 19 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7.26 |
Meredith | 20 | 0 | 33 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9.90 |
Walter | 10 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10.20 |
Wells | 5 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9.60 |
Zaib | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
91 for 1 (52 balls) | Malan |
100 for 2 (62 balls) | Pepper |
