Southern Brave vs Welsh Fire Match 19 Full Commentary

We are all set for what promises to be a fascinating chase. Back in the side, Matthew Short is back partnering the skipper, Phil Salt, up top. Luke Wood will kick things off with the new ball. Salt will take strike. Let's go...

... THE RUN CHASE ...

Game on - 116 may not seem like much, but on a wicket where the ball continued to do enough right through the innings, it will not be an easy chase for Welsh Fire. Jofra Archer has bowled with serious heat throughout the tournament and will be licking his lips at the prospect of bowling on this surface. It will be interesting to see how Fire approach the chase. Do they fight fire with fire, or do they take a leaf out of Stoinis' book by respecting the conditions and finding a method that works? Stay tuned as the chase is coming up shortly.

A quick word with the wizard - Chris Woakes, about the conditions, says it certainly did a lot with the new ball and even towards the backend. He credits the attack for holding their length consistently throughout the innings. Woakes points out that the wickets kept coming at regular intervals, which meant new batters were constantly having to settle in, and that allowed them to squeeze the innings through the middle overs. He reiterates that holding their length was the key to the bowling performance. On Welsh Fire's bowling attack, Woakes speaks highly of the variety on offer. He describes himself and Sam Cook as English-style seamers who still bring their own subtle differences, before pointing to the added dimension of Marco Jansen's height and the extra pace and skid that Lockie Ferguson brings to the mix. He notes there are spin options too, depending on whether a left or right-hander is at the crease, and feels the attack has done a decent job collectively so far. Woakes adds that it has helped to bowl on a surface that has offered the seamers a bit of assistance.

Stoinis showed the way - It was Marcus Stoinis' experience that came to the fore for the Brave. He sized up the conditions quickly, realised that hanging back and using the pace and bounce of the surface was the way to go, and executed his method to perfection. With Stoinis still at the crease and 20 balls remaining, Brave were beginning to dream of getting close to 125. His dismissal came at an inopportune time, but David Miller and Jofra Archer came through and helped Brave finish on 115.

Fire turn up the heat - After being asked to bat first, it was a tough examination for Southern Brave early on as Chris Woakes and Sam Cook had the ball on a string. The ball was doing plenty off the seam, and the extra bounce only added to the challenge for the Brave batters. Ben McKinney and Jamie Smith did not give themselves enough time, with both falling for ducks after trying to take the attack on too early. Promoted to number 3, Nikhil Chaudhary looked all at sea early on and perished while trying to throw caution to the wind.

Ball dominating the bat - It does not happen often in this day and age, but when it does, it makes for compelling viewing as the pacers go about their business and put the batters to the test. That was exactly what unfolded in the first innings, with Southern Brave on the receiving end of a trial by fire as the Welsh Fire quicks quite literally lived up to their name.

Luke Wood walks out to face the last ball.

Jofra Archer is the new man in.

With David Miller at the crease, Phil Salt has opted against taking the risk of bringing back Rachin Ravindra. Matthew Short will bowl the final set, having not bowled up until this point in the innings.

Looks like we have lost the ball.

Lockie Ferguson to bowl the penultimate set.

Marco Jansen to bowl out now.

Over and out - What an absorbing day of cricket it was! Welsh Fire have given their home crowd plenty to cheer about, completing the double over Southern Brave on the day. The win takes the men's side up to 16 points, leapfrogging into second place and drawing level with Trent Rockets at the top, who hold the edge for now courtesy of a superior net run rate. For the Brave, this breaks their two-match winning momentum after a hat trick of defeats, keeping them stacked in the lower half of the table. Unlike the women, they are in a tricky spot right now and need a turnaround very quickly. Up next, action moves back to Headingley for the 20th match of the season, as Sunrisers Leeds host the London Spirit. That game will be played on Tuesday, 4th August, and the first ball of the men's game will be bowled at 5.30 pm GMT (11 pm IST). Do also join us in advance for the buildup. Until then, feel free to switch tabs and follow all the action from the ongoing second Test between West Indies and Pakistan. Goodbye from here!

The captain of Welsh Fire - Phil Salt is now up for a quick chat with the broadcasters. Salt says he is pleased to come away with the win but knows there is still plenty of cricket left to be played. He feels this is the best Welsh Fire side assembled to play at home. Salt stresses the importance of being clear with your plans in such conditions. Adds that the explosive players should back their natural game to put the bowlers off their lengths, while those capable of batting longer should play to their strengths. Phil heaps praise on Chris Woakes and Sam Cook, joking that he certainly would not have wanted to face them on that surface. He also lauds the Cardiff crowd and hopes performances like this encourage even more fans to turn up for the remaining games.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH - Matthew Short receives the award for his match-winning knock of 60 not out from 41 balls and he also picked up a couple of wickets. Short says it is always tough to bat early in Cardiff, with the surface offering plenty for the quicks. He feels chasing was an advantage as the dew helped the ball skid on a little more. Short believes red-ball lengths were the most effective on this surface, and praises his side's seamers for exploiting the conditions perfectly. Mentions that he knew he had to grind through the early phase, play good shots, and wait for the shine to wear off.

... Let's hear it from the man of the moment ...

The Hulk toned down the rage - Cook and Woakes set the tone early for the Fire, extracting every bit of swing, seam and bounce the new ball had to offer as the Brave top order groped around for the first 20 balls without any real answers. The surface itself did plenty too, nipping and gripping with bounce that was never entirely consistent. Amid all that, Stoinis stood out as the lone batter who worked out a method, choosing to sit back in his crease and play off the surface rather than fight it, and the approach paid off handsomely as he cashed in with some eye-catching hitting. Nobody else at the other end could get comfortable, and that allowed the hosts to keep squeezing the innings from one side. Stoinis went on to bring up a well-made fifty before he fell against the run of play in the closing stages, with Miller lending some late fireworks courtesy of a couple of sixes.

Short stood tall - With no real option but to frontload their bowling in search of quick wickets, the Brave found some success through Archer and Jordan, who struck in quick succession through that middle stretch. The wicket of Root in particular took the sting out of the Fire innings, with the hosts slipping from 60/1 to 70/4 in the space of a few sets. Short too lost the fluency he'd found early on. But a few loose deliveries from the Brave gave him the impetus he needed, and he cashed in to bring up a well-made fifty. He found an able ally in Tom Kohler-Cadmore and the two put on a responsible unbeaten stand to coast their side home safely.

Root cause of comfort - Unlike the Fire bowlers who operated on a string, the Brave couldn't quite match that discipline despite getting a fair bit out of the new ball themselves. They did strike early to remove Salt, but couldn't follow it up with the inroads needed to keep the hosts in check. Short made merry with anything loose that came his way. Whereas Root, in typical fashion, took his time to get his eye in and played the perfect foil at the other end during that important 56-run stand.

Flickered but fired eventually - Quite truly, and it did get a touch nervy in the closing stages, but the home side found a way through in the end, handing the crowd a double Monday treat. The women got home in a close one earlier, and now the men have followed suit. It would have taken either an extraordinary bowling effort or a spectacular batting collapse from the Fire for the Brave to have had a real sniff in this game, and in the end neither quite materialised. The Fire weren't at their fluent best in the chase, and the Brave weren't as clinical as they'd have hoped either, so the contest played out somewhere in that middle ground before Welsh Fire eventually got over the line.

The Southern Brave have been penalised for not completing their sets in time. Meaning, an extra fielder will have to be stationed inside the ring.

The writing is pretty much on the wall now. Welsh Fire need just 9 runs from 10 balls. Marcus Stoinis returns for his final set of five.

Last 15 balls left. Welsh Fire need 17 runs from those. Shouldn't be difficult from here for them with two proper hitters out there. Skipper Chris Jordan brings himself into the attack. 1/9 in 15 balls so far are his bowling figures.

Jofra Archer is back and will bowl out. 2/9 in 15 balls so far. And looks like the last two balls of the previous set precipitated the call to bring him back on.