AI Simulation, WF vs SB | Jofra Archer and Leus Du Plooy help Southern Brave pip Welsh Fire

08/20/2025

As per Artificial Intelligence, Southern Brave will beat Welsh Fire by five wickets in The Hundred Men’s 2025 game at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Wednesday. Jofra Archer’s three-wicket haul helped the Brave restrict the home side before Leus du Plooy anchored the chase with a 32-ball 47.

‌Pitch & Weather

It was a breezy Cardiff evening with light cloud cover. The pitch had a touch of green offering early seam but promised truer bounce later on in the game, which favoured the stroke-makers.

Toss & Conditions

Southern Brave won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Lineups

Welsh Fire: Stephen Eskinazi, Steven Smith, Jonny Bairstow (c&wk), Luke Wells, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Paul Walter, Chris Green, Saif Zaib, David Payne, Matt Henry, Ajeet Singh Dale.

Southern Brave: Leus du Plooy, James Vince (c), Jason Roy, Laurie Evans (wk), James Coles, Michael Bracewell, Hilton Cartwright, Jordan Thompson, Craig Overton, Jofra Archer, Tymal Mills.

Match Report

On a breezy evening in Cardiff, Southern Brave put in a disciplined all-round performance to outplay Welsh Fire by five wickets. The match was defined by Jofra Archer’s pacy and incisive spell that rewarded him with three wickets, and a composed batting effort during the chase led by Leus du Plooy and James Coles.

Welsh Fire were immediately under pressure after being put into bat on a slightly greenish pitch. Archer struck with his very first over, removing Eskinazi with a sharp outswinger and later dismissing Steve Smith, to reduce the Fire to 39/2 inside the mandatory powerplay of 25 balls. Bairstow, however, refused to back down as he mixed aggression with placement to score 46 off 28 balls. He hit six fours and two sixes and was looking in good nick for a huge knock. But his dismissal of Tymal Mills halted the momentum of Fire’s batting innings. The middle order - Luke Wells, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, and Paul Walter - provided only brief contributions as Southern Brave’s disciplined attack, led by Archer and Craig Overton, strangled scoring opportunities. The home side could manage only 147/8 with Archer picking up 3/18 in his quota of 20 balls, while Mills and Overton had two wickets each.

Brave’s reply started with opener Jason Roy striking two crisp boundaries before being sent back by Ajeet Singh Dale. Skipper James Vince and du Plooy steadied the innings with a fluent 44-run stand, as they punished anything loose from the home team’s bowlers. Matt Henry’s clever variations briefly unsettled the chase, as the Kiwi pacer removed Vince and Laurie Evans to give Fire some hope. But du Plooy looked in supreme touch as he guided the chase, with five fours and a six in his knock of 47 off 32 balls. James Coles injected urgency towards the latter half of the chase with a rapid cameo of 28 from 15 balls. Despite two late strikes from off-spinner Chris Green, Michael Bracewell’s calm stay at the crease sealed victory for the visitors as they reached 148/5 with eight balls to spare. Henry and Green finished with spells of 2/28 and 2/31, respectively, in their four overs.