Welsh Fire and London Spirit completed their 2026 Hundred group-stage campaigns at Sophia Gardens on 12 August 2026 with a split result across the men's and women's fixtures. Welsh Fire's women closed out their campaign with a 15-run win over London Spirit, while London Spirit's men beat Welsh Fire by six runs in the corresponding men's match. Both clubs' men's and women's teams had already been eliminated from knockout contention before either result was confirmed.
In the women's match, Fire posted 138-7 from their 100 balls, a total built largely around Georgia Wareham's innings of 50 from 34 deliveries, her first half-century of the tournament. The Australian all-rounder's late surge rescued an innings that had lost momentum after a promising opening, with Grace Harris the pick of the Spirit bowlers, finishing with figures of 3-15.
How did Spirit's women's chase unfold?
Spirit's pursuit of 139 was undermined early by Fire seamer Grace Potts, who removed the top of the order inside the powerplay, including a double-wicket burst that accounted for both Grace Harris and Marie Kelly in consecutive deliveries. Potts finished with 3-23.
Captain Charlie Dean attempted to steady the innings, adding useful partnerships first with Charis Pavely and then Nadine de Klerk, but her dismissal for 27 left Spirit at 75-6 and struggling to keep pace with the required rate. Deandra Dottin offered late resistance with her power-hitting, but the West Indian batter ran out of partners and overs, falling with five balls remaining to confirm Fire's win. According to an ESPN match report, London Spirit were ultimately bowled out for 123.
How did the men's match unfold?
In the men's fixture, played on the same day at Sophia Gardens, Welsh Fire won the toss and chose to field, according to a live scoring update. London Spirit were restricted to 131-8, with Jonny Bairstow's 34 from 19 balls providing early impetus and James Coles and Jamie Overton adding 29 and 21 respectively, though none converted their starts into a substantial score. Chris Woakes and Marco Jansen each took two wickets for Fire, with Jansen finishing with 2-16.
Chasing 132, Fire looked on course for a routine win as Joe Root and Jordan Cox produced a 47-run stand to reach 90-2. Root departed for a run-a-ball 31, but Cox accelerated to 44 from 28 balls, leaving his side needing 15 runs from eight balls with six wickets in hand. Fire then lost Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Rachin Ravindra in quick succession, and Jansen needed a six from the final ball to level the scores. Jansen struck David Willey, who finished with 3-20, over midwicket hoping to clear the rope, but was caught by Jamie Overton at deep midwicket as Fire finished six runs short.
Where do the two sides finish in the tables?
In the women's competition, Welsh Fire conclude the group phase in fifth position with 12 points and a net run-rate of 0.042, while London Spirit finish sixth on 10 points with a net run-rate of -0.306, according to ESPN's tournament scorecard. Spirit's women ended their campaign with a 2-5 record.
In the men's competition, Welsh Fire finished with four wins from eight matches and 16 points, four points behind both Manchester Super Giants and Sunrisers Leeds, who occupy second and third place, and a net run-rate of -1.001. London Spirit's men ended their campaign seventh in the table with three wins. MI London, currently fourth, could still qualify for the Eliminator at the expense of Sunrisers Leeds if they beat Birmingham Phoenix by a significant margin.
Fire's season had included a mixture of results, including a three-wicket win over Manchester Super Giants at Old Trafford in which Orla Prendergast took 4-18, and a first defeat to Birmingham Phoenix, who claimed their maiden win over Fire courtesy of Ellyse Perry and Alice Capsey. A Headingley double against Sunrisers Leeds, in which Phoebe Litchfield's 55 sealed a six-wicket women's win and Mitch Marsh's half-century secured a 71-run men's victory, had already ended Fire's hopes of progressing in both competitions. Spirit, meanwhile, had earlier beaten Trent Rockets, with Nadine de Klerk's unbeaten 41 securing a five-wicket win at Trent Bridge, though Spirit's men and women had both lost to Manchester Super Giants at Lord's earlier in the season, with Liam Livingstone's 69 going in vain for Spirit's men in a seven-run defeat in that new-era Lord's double-header.
What is Wareham's role within the Welsh Fire squad?
Wareham's half-century capped a season in which Welsh Fire built their squad around a group of overseas signings. According to The Hundred's official squad announcement, Fire signed Sophie Devine as an overseas player for £210,000, alongside Wareham and Georgia Voll, as part of their build for the 2026 competition. The same report lists Wareham's contract for the tournament at £100,000, with team-mate Georgia Voll signed for £80,000.
Wareham went on to build on this innings later in the competition. In a subsequent match against MI London, she scored 43 off 20 balls and took 2-23, earning player of the match honours as Fire secured a 60-run win, according to Women's CricInsight. That MI London fixture also featured a standout innings from Rachin Ravindra, who scored 98 as Fire beat MI London by 15 runs in the men's equivalent match, though Ravindra fell cheaply during his side's narrow defeat to Spirit at Sophia Gardens.
What happens next in the competition?
With the group stage now complete, the Hundred takes a short pause before the knockout matches begin. Both the men's and women's Eliminator fixtures will be played at The Oval, with Sunrisers Leeds facing Southern Brave in the women's contest from 14:15 BST, while Manchester Super Giants take on an opponent yet to be confirmed in the men's Eliminator from 18:00.
The finals follow at Lord's, with Trent Rockets' men's and women's teams already through and set to meet the respective Eliminator winners. According to a BBC Sport preview, the women's final is scheduled for Sunday at Lord's, where the Eliminator winner will face the already-qualified Trent Rockets side.
- Welsh Fire's women beat London Spirit by 15 runs at Sophia Gardens on 12 August 2026, with both sides already eliminated.
- London Spirit's men beat Welsh Fire by six runs in the corresponding men's fixture at the same venue.
- Georgia Wareham scored 50 from 34 balls for Fire's women, her first Hundred half-century of the season.
- Jordan Cox top-scored with 44 for Fire's men, while Jonny Bairstow made 34 for Spirit's men.
- Fire's women finished fifth (12 points) and Spirit's women sixth (10 points) in the group standings.
- Fire's men finished with 16 points and Spirit's men seventh with three wins, with MI London still able to overtake Sunrisers Leeds for the men's Eliminator spot.
- The knockout stage begins Friday at The Oval, with finals at Lord's on Sunday.
