Southern Brave Edge Out Welsh Fire in Final Group Clash
Southern Brave secured a dramatic four-run victory over Welsh Fire in Southampton, sealing the fourth spot in the standings. Despite both teams being out of contention for the top three, pride was on the line in the last group-stage game. For Welsh Fire, a win could have lifted them to fourth, but the defeat left them at the bottom of the table, alongside their women’s team.
Jason Roy turned back the clock with a blistering 70 off 39 deliveries, setting the tone for Brave’s innings. After being reduced to 10 for 2 early on, Roy counterattacked with trademark aggression, smashing back-to-back sixes and bringing up his half-century in just 30 balls. David Payne (2 for 17) eventually dismissed him, but valuable contributions from Leus du Plooy (30 off 21), Craig Overton, and Jordan Thompson pushed Brave to a strong total of 167 for 7.
𝑱𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑹𝒐𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝑺𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒆’𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔.
Overton’s Early Strikes, Kohler-Cadmore’s Fightback
In reply, Craig Overton gave Brave the perfect start, removing Steve Smith in the opening over and finishing with 3 for 22. Welsh Fire slumped to 24 for 3 inside the Powerplay, leaving them with an uphill battle.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore (84 off 46) and youngster Ben Kellaway, however, reignited hopes with an explosive 81-run stand from just 39 balls. Their partnership kept the chase alive, with Kohler-Cadmore matching Roy’s fireworks by hammering consecutive sixes.
“𝑰𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔; 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒘𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕,” 𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉-𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆.
The game went right down to the wire. With 36 needed from the last 20 balls, Brave’s seamers Jordan Thompson and Tymal Mills executed their yorkers and slower deliveries to perfection. Even a late no-ball and six kept the Fire in the hunt, but Thompson’s crucial dismissal of Kohler-Cadmore in the penultimate over sealed the deal. Welsh Fire fell short, needing six from the final ball, as Brave closed out the thriller.
Post-Match Reactions
Overton, named Meerkat Match Hero, praised his side’s effort:
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒑 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒘. 𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒅𝒏’𝒕 𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒘𝒊𝒏.”
With this victory, Southern Brave signed off their season on a high, while Welsh Fire were left to rue missed opportunities that consigned them to the bottom.
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