Welsh Fire (WEF) and London Spirit (LNS) meet each other in a bid to avoid finishing at the bottom of the points table. After winning their first two fixtures, Welsh Fire lost five games in a row and is seventh in the standings. Eoin Morgan-led London Spirit, on the other hand, managed to pick up only one win in the tournament so far. They are lying at the bottom with three points from seven games.
Team News
Both teams could give a starting berth to a few players who haven’t received enough game time. Welsh Fire batsman Ian Cockbain will be keen to continue impressing with the bat after registering 25-plus scores in the last two games. Tom Banton will be desperate to end the tournament on a high note after struggling to live up to the hype. All-rounder Ryan Higgins might find a place in the playing eleven.
Welsh Fire’s pace attack lacks experience and quality in the absence of Liam Plunkett and Jake Ball. They are likely to recall Matt Milnes and include leg-spinner Matt Critchley in place of Welsh Fire’s leading wicket-taker and Afghanistan spinner Qais Ahmad, who might sit out.
London Spirit is likely to retain the opening pair of Adam Rossington and Joe Denly. The duo put together 49 – the franchise’s third-highest partnership in the tournament – against Oval Invincibles. Luis Reece might replace Ravi Bopara, who has scored just 56 runs in six innings. The rest of the batting line-up is likely to be unchanged.
The trio Blake Cullen, Brad Wheal, and Mason Crane are likely to play against Welsh Fire. They clinched 18 wickets between them in the tournament so far. All-rounder Roelof van der Merwe removed Jason Roy and Sunil Narine in his first set of five in London Spirit’s last game.
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (previous match)
WEF: T Banton (47 pts), G Phillips (43 pts), I Cockbain (43 pts), L du Plooy (38 pts), L Fletcher (29 pts)
LNS: R van Merwe (71 pts), J Denly (58 pts), E Morgan (56 pts), B Wheal (56 pts), M Crane (39 pts)
The Hundred Stats
Most Runs: WEF – B Duckett (226 pts); LNS – E Morgan (126 runs)
Most Wickets: WEF – Q Ahmad (8 wickets); LNS – B Cullen (7 wickets)
Most Sixes: WEF – L du Plooy (7 sixes); LNS – E Morgan (7 sixes)
Most Fours: WEF – B Duckett (27 fours); LNS – A Rossington (14 fours)
Most Catches: WEF – G Phillips (5 catches); LNS – R Bopara (5 catches)
Squads
WEF (likely): T Banton, D Lloyd, I Cockbain, B Duckett, G Phillips, L du Plooy, J Neesham, M J Critchley/Q Ahmad, G White, L Fletcher, M Milnes/D Payne
LNS (likely): A Rossington, J Denly, J Inglis, L Reece, E Morgan, J Cracknell, D Wiese, R van Merwe, B Cullen, B Wheal, M Crane
Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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