By Alex Bywater
After winning their opening two matches in The Hundred, the Welsh Fire men have now suffered back to back defeats but Gary Kirsten’s team are looking to get back to winning ways when the Trent Rockets visit Sophia Gardens on Friday.
Captain Ben Duckett is in the form of his life but admits all his runs don’t count for much if his team lose games.
Left hander Duckett has been red hot in The Hundred to date and he continued in that mood with 65 runs against Oval Invincibles in London on Tuesday.
Unfortunately for England hopeful Duckett, who has played four Tests, three ODI’s and one T20 for his country, he couldn’t help his team to victory.
Welsh Fire posted 121 for seven, mainly thanks to Duckett’s knock, but it always looked short of a competitive total and the Invincibles eased home by six wickets.
“We were 20 or 30 short of par and nowhere near good enough. It is the first time we have struggled with the bat and it is going to happen in this competition,” said Duckett.
“The player availability issues haven’t been ideal, but other guys have stepped up. Losing big names is always going to hurt you, but the guys have come in to fill those holes.
“This is the role I’ve been doing for a while. I feel this is the best I’ve hit the ball, probably ever, I’d say. I was 10 or 15 short, but I struggled to get going and we kept losing wickets.
“I’m feeling good but I don’t like scoring runs when we don’t win games.”
Welsh Fire men’s side are fifth in a tightly contested Hundred table with four points.
They have won two and lost two of their four games so far.
Their next match is against Trent Rockets in Cardiff on Friday.
The Fire have juggled their squad with New Zealand allrounder Jimmy Neesham now staying on for the rest of the tournament to replace injured South African fast bowler Lungi Ngidi.
Matt Milnes, who played against the Invincibles, has replaced the crocked Liam Plunkett while Graeme White has also been added to the squad.
The Fire men’s team might have lost their last two games, but it is a different story for the women who have sealed back-to-back victories.
They posted only 112 for six against the Invincibles but some superb fielding and bowling saw them home by 12 runs.
Katie George led the way for the Fire in the field with three catches including one stunning, low effort on the midwicket boundary.
“We didn’t start the tournament the way we wanted, but I can’t fault the girls over the last two games,” said George.
“We knew going into the second innings we were a few short, but we took confidence from them not being able to chase in their last game and the way we bowled against Manchester.
“We executed our plans well. On the bench we were going ‘Wow’ at Sarah Taylor’s shots. She is something else, especially when she is on song. She offers so much off the pitch as well and it is nice to see her playing well. Class is permanent and I think she is close to being back at her best.
“I am frustrated not to be able to bowl, but I want to be involved in the game and compete. I knew at the start of the competition I wasn’t going to be able to bowl so had to get round that mentally.”