Aussie pace bowler Riley Meredith cranked it up in front of a raucous Cardiff crowd, taking 4 for 9 as Welsh Fire defeated Manchester Originals by 25 runs.
There were also three-fors for both Chris Green (3 for 19) and David Payne (3 for 14) as a brilliant fielding and bowling performance earned Fire a much deserved win.
Match Analysis
Bowling first, Originals got off to a flying start, Sonny Baker having Jonny Bairstow caught by Lewis Gregory at slip with his fifth ball.
Fire reached 28 for 1 after the powerplay, 22 of the runs to Steve Smith, including a stunning six over point off Josh Tongue.
Tongue soon got his revenge, seeing Smith caught behind for 26. Fire then lost Luke Wells to Scott Currie for 13, reaching 57 for 3 at the halfway point.
Tongue returned to remove Abell (22) and Currie got rid of Saif Zaib (15), both caught behind by Jos Buttler, the Fire innings threatening to fizzle out at 108 for 6.
Chris Green added some late impetus, striking two sixes in his nine-ball 19, as Fire closed on 137 for 8, Currie (3 for 21) and Tongue (3 for 25) the pick of the Originals’ attack.
A brilliant burst of 3 for 6 from 10 balls by Riley Meredith saw the backs of Phil Salt (3), McKinney (10) and Mark Chapman (0), Salt spectacularly caught at deep backward-square by Green, as the Fire started well on top.
Buttler began the counterattack, hitting Paul Walter for back-to-back boundaries, but the Fire struck a huge blow when they had Heinrich Klaasen (11) caught in the deep off Green.
Buttler kept going, bringing up his fifty from 28 balls with a six off Green, but the off-spinner then struck twice, taking the key wickets of Buttler (57) and Gregory (21), both caught at deep midwicket by Abell, before Payne and Meredith cleaned up the tail.
Meerkat Match Hero Chris Green said: “It was a lot of fun. The last two games here have been an amazing atmosphere. The support here in Cardiff has been fantastic and it was great to reward that support with a win here tonight.
“Tommy Abell thought 130 was defendable, there was a bit of hold for the off-cutters for the seamers and a bit of hold for the spinners as well.
“Riley Meredith was outstanding up front and probably should be standing here because I thought he broke the game open. The energy we had and the support we had tonight got us over the line and we go into a big game in London on Saturday.”
Match Summary
Welsh Fire (Men) vs Manchester Originals (Men), Match 12
Welsh Fire (Men) 137/8 (100 balls)
Manchester Originals (Men) 112/10 (97 balls)
Welsh Fire (Men) won by 25 runs
SCORECARD
Match Stats
Welsh Fire (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-1 (Jonny Bairstow – 0.5 ov), 2-32 (Steven Smith – 5.5 ov), 3-44 (Luke Wells – 7.4 ov), 4-87 (Tom Kohler-Cadmore – 13.1 ov), 5-97 (Tom Abell – 15.2 ov), 6-108 (Saif Zaib – 16.3 ov), 7-133 (Chris Green – 18.5 ov), 8-134 (Paul Walter – 19.2 ov)
Manchester Originals (Men) Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Phil Salt – 2.3 ov), 2-14 (Ben McKinney – 2.5 ov), 3-14 (Mark Chapman – 3.5 ov), 4-56 (Heinrich Klaasen – 9.3 ov), 5-103 (Jos Buttler – 16.1 ov), 6-106 (Lewis Gregory – 16.5 ov), 7-107 (Tom Hartley – 17.3 ov), 8-108 (Scott Currie – 17.5 ov), 9-110 (Noor Ahmad – 18.3 ov), 10-112 (Sonny Baker – 19.2 ov)
Wagon Wheel
Playing XI
Welsh Fire (Men)
Manchester Originals (Men)
Match Details:
Date: Wednesday, August 13, 2025 18:30
Venue: Sophia Gardens, Cardiff
Toss: Manchester Originals (Men) elected to bowl
Umpires: Rob White (England) Steve O’Shaughnessy (England) Mike Burns (England TV)
Match Referee: Dean Cosker (England)
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