FIND THE EDGE
The Hundred — match preview

Welsh Fire v London Spirit

Sophia Gardens | 12 Aug 2026, 15:00100-ball

Result: London Spirit won defending

Ground trends — Sophia Gardens

  • Six-sparse: Only 8.7 sixes per match vs 11.3 globally
  • Challenging powerplay: Only 28.6 runs in PP vs 35.7 globally
  • Bowler-friendly powerplay: 1.5 wickets in PP vs 1.3 globally

In-play & trading angles

  • Defendable totalA first-innings score of 160+ is defended 75% of the time here. Once a side posts it, the fielding team is live in-play — the market often overrates the chase.
  • Chase edgeWelsh Fire chase better than London Spirit (39.1% vs 21.4% in the Hundred). If Welsh Fire are chasing, they hold value deeper than the scoreboard suggests.

Average runs in the last five 5-ball sets at Sophia Gardens are 8.6, 9.3, 8.1, 8.8, 8.8 — about 43.6 runs in the closing quarter (22 Hundred matches). Runs lines below that, with batting in hand, are the overs angle.

Full ground stats

Full venue stats →
Avg 1st innings135 (7.27 rpo)
Median 1st innings139
Chase success rate50%
Bat first win rate50%
Toss winner win rate32%
Avg powerplay (1st inns)28.6/1.5
Boundaries per match22.4 fours, 8.7 sixes
Highest chase / lowest defended165 / 94

Based on 22 Hundred matches at this ground.

Team trends

Welsh Fire

Overall15-31 · 32.6%
Recent form
WLWWL
Batting first28.6% (21)
Chasing39.1% (23)
At this ground26.3% (19)

London Spirit

Overall13-33 · 28.3%
Recent form
LWLLL
Batting first33.3% (30)
Chasing21.4% (14)
At this ground33.3% (3)

Head-to-head (last 5 Hundred meetings): Welsh Fire 2, London Spirit 3.

Teams

Welsh Fire

  • · Won 2 of 3 at Sophia Gardens this season (3 matches at the ground)
  • · Recently failed to defend 155 v Manchester Super Giants; chased 115 v Southern Brave; chased 137 v Birmingham Phoenix (last 3 matches)
  • · Averaging 139.3 with the bat (135 at home, 143.7 away) (6 matches in 2026)
  • · Conceding an average of 137.7 — 129 bowling first, 146.3 bowling second (6 matches in 2026)
  • · Poor overall record at Sophia Gardens: 5-14 (19 matches)

London Spirit

  • · Recently failed to defend 160 v MI London; fell short chasing 241 v Sunrisers Leeds; failed to defend 105 v Southern Brave (last 3 matches)
  • · Averaging 154 with the bat (132 at home, 176 away) (6 matches in 2026)
  • · Conceding an average of 163 — 181 bowling first, 145 bowling second (6 matches in 2026)
  • · Won only 2 of last 10 (10 matches)

Players

Welsh Fire

Matthew William Shortbat
  • · 195 runs in 5 innings in 2026 at an average of 48.75, striking at 141.3 (5 inns, 138 balls)
  • · Low score of 8, best of 71 (5 inns, 138 balls)
  • · 1.2 sixes per innings (6 total) (5 inns, 138 balls)
  • · Strikes at 136.4 against London Spirit in the Hundred, 1.7% below the league average, averaging 45 (33 balls faced)
Rachin Ravindrabat
  • · 159 runs in 6 innings in 2026 at an average of 31.8, striking at 176.7 (6 inns, 90 balls)
  • · Low score of 0, best of 98 (6 inns, 90 balls)
  • · 1.3 sixes per innings (8 total) (6 inns, 90 balls)
Marco Jansenbowl
  • · 4 wickets in 6 innings in 2026 at 7.1 runs per 5-ball set (6 inns, 112 balls)
  • · 0.67 wickets per innings (6 inns, 112 balls)
Christopher Roger Woakesbowl
  • · 3 wickets in 6 innings in 2026 at 7 runs per 5-ball set (6 inns, 110 balls)
  • · 0.5 wickets per innings (6 inns, 110 balls)

London Spirit

Lhuan-dre Gilbert Pretoriusbat
  • · 168 runs in 6 innings in 2026 at an average of 28, striking at 178.7 (6 inns, 94 balls)
  • · Low score of 5, best of 64 (6 inns, 94 balls)
  • · 2.3 sixes per innings (14 total) (6 inns, 94 balls)
Liam Stephen Livingstonebat
  • · 163 runs in 6 innings in 2026 at an average of 27.17, striking at 145.5 (6 inns, 112 balls)
  • · Low score of 5, best of 69 (6 inns, 112 balls)
  • · 1.5 sixes per innings (9 total) (6 inns, 112 balls)
  • · Strikes at 156.6 against Welsh Fire in the Hundred, 12.9% above the league average, averaging 16.6 (53 balls faced)
Adam Fraser Milnebowl
  • · 5 wickets in 6 innings in 2026 at 6.5 runs per 5-ball set (6 inns, 109 balls)
  • · 0.83 wickets per innings (6 inns, 109 balls)
David Jonathan Willeybowl
  • · 5 wickets in 6 innings in 2026 at 7.9 runs per 5-ball set (6 inns, 95 balls)
  • · 0.83 wickets per innings (6 inns, 95 balls)

Stats are computed from ball-by-ball Hundred data only — never mixed with T20 — and show their sample sizes.