FIND THE EDGE
The Hundred — match preview

Welsh Fire v Southern Brave

Sophia Gardens | 3 Aug 2026100-ball

Result: Welsh Fire won chasing

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 edgeSouthern Brave chase better than Welsh Fire (60.7% vs 36.4% in the Hundred). If Southern Brave 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

Overall14-30 · 31.8%
Recent form
LWWLW
Batting first30% (20)
Chasing36.4% (22)
At this ground26.3% (19)

Southern Brave

Overall25-25 · 50%
Recent form
LLLWW
Batting first42.1% (19)
Chasing60.7% (28)
At this ground80% (5)

Head-to-head (last 10 Hundred meetings): Welsh Fire 2, Southern Brave 8.

Teams

Welsh Fire

  • · Won 1 of 2 at Sophia Gardens this season (2 matches at the ground)
  • · Recently chased 137 v Birmingham Phoenix; failed to defend 122 v Trent Rockets; defended 167 v MI London (last 3 matches)
  • · Averaging 141.3 with the bat (144.5 at home, 138 away) (4 matches in 2026)
  • · Conceding an average of 137.5 — 136 bowling first, 139 bowling second (4 matches in 2026)
  • · Poor overall record at Sophia Gardens: 5-14 (19 matches)
  • · Trails the H2H vs Southern Brave 2-8 (10 meetings)

Southern Brave

  • · Recently chased 105 v London Spirit; defended 128 v Birmingham Phoenix; failed to defend 129 v MI London (last 3 matches)
  • · Averaging 137 with the bat (130.7 at home, 146.5 away) (5 matches in 2026)
  • · Conceding an average of 135.2 — 146 bowling first, 128 bowling second (5 matches in 2026)
  • · Wins 60.7% chasing vs 42.1% the other way (19 bat-first / 28 chasing)
  • · Strong overall record at Sophia Gardens: 4-1 (5 matches)
  • · Leads the H2H vs Welsh Fire 8-2 (10 meetings)

Key matchups

M Short vs L Wood12/9 · SR 133 · 0w

12 runs off 9 balls, 0 dismissals

P Salt vs A Rashid14/10 · SR 140 · 0w

14 runs off 10 balls, 0 dismissals

From these two sides' historical Hundred meetings — a guide to duels that may recur.

Players

Welsh Fire

Rachin Ravindrabat
  • · 145 runs in 4 innings in 2026 at an average of 36.25, striking at 174.7 (4 inns, 83 balls)
  • · Low score of 7, best of 98 (4 inns, 83 balls)
  • · 1.8 sixes per innings (7 total) (4 inns, 83 balls)
Joseph Edward Rootbat
  • · 107 runs in 4 innings in 2026 at an average of 35.67, striking at 120.2 (4 inns, 89 balls)
  • · Low score of 5, best of 58 (4 inns, 89 balls)
  • · Strikes at 119.4 against Southern Brave in the Hundred, 13.9% below the league average, averaging 12.33 (31 balls faced)
Marco Jansenbowl
  • · 4 wickets in 4 innings in 2026 at 6.5 runs per 5-ball set (4 inns, 77 balls)
  • · 1 wickets per innings (4 inns, 77 balls)
Christopher Roger Woakesbowl
  • · 2 wickets in 4 innings in 2026 at 7.7 runs per 5-ball set (4 inns, 75 balls)
  • · 0.5 wickets per innings (4 inns, 75 balls)

Southern Brave

David Andrew Millerbat
  • · 124 runs in 5 innings in 2026 at an average of 31, striking at 121.6 (5 inns, 102 balls)
  • · Low score of 8, best of 44 (5 inns, 102 balls)
  • · 0.8 sixes per innings (4 total) (5 inns, 102 balls)
  • · Strikes at 125.7 against Welsh Fire in the Hundred, 9.4% below the league average, averaging 44 (35 balls faced)
Jamie Luke Smithbat
  • · 124 runs in 5 innings in 2026 at an average of 24.8, striking at 167.6 (5 inns, 74 balls)
  • · Low score of 3, best of 49 (5 inns, 74 balls)
  • · 1.4 sixes per innings (7 total) (5 inns, 74 balls)
  • · Strikes at 151.4 against Welsh Fire in the Hundred, 9.2% above the league average, averaging 13.25 (35 balls faced)
Jofra Chioke Archerbowl
  • · 5 wickets in 5 innings in 2026 at 6 runs per 5-ball set (5 inns, 100 balls)
  • · 1 wickets per innings (5 inns, 100 balls)
Adil Usman Rashidbowl
  • · 7 wickets in 5 innings in 2026 at 5 runs per 5-ball set (5 inns, 100 balls)
  • · 1.4 wickets per innings (5 inns, 100 balls)

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