Summary

  • Brave's reply stalls after Vince out for 40

  • Bairstow (72) & Duckett (53) post first 100 partnership of competition for Fire

  • Fire won their opener, Brave lost

  1. Postpublished at 21:46 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    I'll let you into a secret, when I woke up this morning and saw the weather forecast for Cardiff, I did not expect to see two uninterrupted matches.

    But we have been treated to some brilliant individual performances.

    You can read Ffion Wynne's report from this evening's match here.

    We'll be back tomorrow with live text, radio commentary and in-play clips of Manchester Originals v Northern Superchargers in the women's Hundred from 14:15 BST.

    That will be followed by the same two teams meeting again in the men's competition, with our coverage of that starting at 18:15 BST.

    See you tomorrow!

  2. Postpublished at 21:44 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Welsh Fire's win this evening levels things up after Southern Brave were victorious in the women's fixture between the two sides earlier this afternoon.

    India's Smriti Mandhana scored an unbeaten 61 from 39 balls in an empathetic eight-wicket win...

  3. Postpublished at 21:41 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    And they were going along nicely at one stage, with captain James Vince (who scored 40 off 27) unleashing the big shots...

  4. Postpublished at 21:36 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    It wasn't as one-sided as the scorecard may suggest.

    Some late wickets for Southern Brave did leave the match intriguingly poised at the halfway stage...

  5. Postpublished at 21:31 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    So Bairstow, who will now leave for international duty with England ahead of the Test series with India, is given the hero of the match award.

    He, rightly so, applauded the efforts of Neesham...

  6. Postpublished at 21:29 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Hero of the match and captain of Welsh Fire Jonny Bairstow, speaking to Sky Sports: "Jimmy Neesham bowled a game-changing spell and that's why he is over here. Last time he got 30 off 10 balls and today he has wickets.

    "It's tough at the top when you have high-quality players coming at you. We took risks with spin, they played great shots, but we got our rewards. The way our boys bowled with a lack of pace suited the pitch better. Utilising that was key.

    "It's been amazing to play in The Hundred and I love to play at Cardiff, the fans are passionate and I want to say thanks to them. It doesn't matter how we win, just that we win."

  7. Postpublished at 21:27 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Bairstow shared a 116-run partnership with Ben Duckett, who played an entertaining 53 from 34 balls...

  8. Postpublished at 21:24 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Chris Green
    Middlesex all-rounder on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

    Runs on the board counted and Jonny Bairstow will most likely be the hero of the match. Might have been different if Jimmy Neesham had bowled at the end, but you can't argue with Bairstow as the choice.

  9. Postpublished at 21:24 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Don't forget, Jimmy Neesham bowled fantastically and is just as deserving. He bowled 15 balls, conceded five runs and took three wickets. Superb!

  10. Postpublished at 21:23 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Will this guy be the Match Hero?

  11. Postpublished at 21:21 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Chris Green
    Middlesex all-rounder on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra

    Southern Brave got off to a great start but Welsh Fire have been superb in the middle and death overs.

  12. Welsh Fire win by 18 runspublished at 0 balls left
    Breaking

    Brave 147-7

    Yep, you guessed it - Southern Brave did not hit 19 runs off Payne's final delivery.

    Welsh Fire beat Southern Brave by 18 runs at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.

  13. Brave 146-7published at 1 ball left

    Play and a miss. Dot ball.

  14. Brave 146-7published at 2 balls left

    It's a legal delivery. It's a single.

  15. Brave 145-7published at 3 balls left

    Need 21 runs in 3 balls.

    If there are no wides or no-balls, it's mathematically impossible for Southern Brave to win.

  16. Brave 144-7published at 4 balls left

    Need 22 from 4 balls

    David Payne bowls the final five and starts with a dot ball.

  17. Postpublished at 21:17 British Summer Time 27 July 2021

    Ffion Wynne
    BBC Sport at Sophia Gardens

    And now "It's Coming Home" has just started from the Welsh crowd. Too soon?

  18. Brave 144-7published at 5 balls left

    Need 22 runs from 5 balls

    A leg bye and two singles. Jake Ball has done his job!

    Southern Brave need a somewhat miracle here.

  19. Brave 141-7published at 8 balls left

    Need 25 to win

    A yorker is dug out by Briggs, just the one run.

  20. Brave 140-7published at 9 balls left

    Just a single down the ground from Overton.

    Welsh Fire are in touching distance now.