Southern Brave finished fourth in The Hundred after Jason Roy hit 70 to clinch a four-run win over bottom side Welsh Fire in Southampton.
After being inserted, Brave got off to a shaky start, reaching 10-2 after 14 balls, but then Roy struck 70 from 39 deliveries whilst Leus du Plooy (30) added support to help their side post 167-7.
Chasing 168 in reply, Tom Kohler-Cadmore notched 84 from 46 balls, the third-highest score in The Hundred this year, but Fire fell just short of their target.
Fire also had a shaky start as had openers Stephen Eskinazi (0) and Steve Smith (4) caught inside the first five balls of the chase.
Fire fell to 24-3 after the Powerplay, and Tom Abell’s (20) brief stint was ended by Craig Overton (3-22), but Tom Kohler-Cadmore (84) and Welsh starlet Ben Kellaway (33) soaked up the pressure and then exploded, hitting shots all around the ground.
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Southern Brave take two wickets off the Welsh Fire in their first five deliveries during their clash in The Hundred.
Kohler-Cadmore matched Roy in striking a brace of successive sixes and combined with Kellaway for a partnership worth 81 in 39 balls and leaving the match in the balance.
Things were tight in the end, with Fire needing seven runs off two balls, and Jordan Thompson (2-29) bowled Kohler-Cadmore to help Brave secure victory.
“It was great to get across the line; we haven’t quite put in the performances this year so it’s good to finish with a win. It was about doing the basics; it swung a bit, and the way the boys finished off was great,” said Overton, the Player of the Match.
“The boys have been awesome; the group has been similar for the last three or four years and it’s nice to get back together. We didn’t quite perform how we would have wanted but that’s the way it goes sometimes.”
How do matches work?One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It is as simple as that.Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred, with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weather.What’s next in The Hundred?
The Kia Oval in South London will host the eliminators on Saturday with Northern Superchargers taking on defending champions London Spirit in the women’s fixture (2.15pm) before Trent Rockets play Superchargers in the men’s (6pm).
The winners will advance to Sunday’s finals at Lord’s to take on Southern Brave Women and Oval Invincibles Men respectively – the women’s final is at 2.15pm and the men’s at 6pm.
Watch every match in the women’s and men’s competitions in The Hundred live on Sky Sports. Stream cricket and more with NOW.