Welsh Fire eliminated after six-run defeat by London Spirit in Cardiff

Welsh Fire were eliminated from The Hundred men's competition on 12 August 2026 after losing by six runs to London Spirit in their final group match in Cardiff. Marco Jansen needed a six from the final ball to level but was caught at deep as Fire finished on 125-7 chasing Spirit's 131-8.

The defeat left Fire four points behind Manchester Super Giants and Sunrisers Leeds, who finished second and third respectively with four wins from eight matches. MI London, fourth, can still qualify for the Eliminator at the expense of Sunrisers if they defeat Birmingham Phoenix by a significant margin today. Heading into their final fixture, Fire’s hopes were effectively over because of a net run-rate of -1.001, and Spirit set a target of 132.

Sent in to bat, London Spirit were restricted to 131-8 from their 100 balls as the Fire bowlers kept them in check. Jonny Bairstow provided the early impetus with 34 off 19 balls while James Coles and Jamie Overton added 29 and 21 respectively. Chris Woakes and Marco Jansen each claimed two wickets, Jansen finishing with figures of 2-16.

Welsh Fire began their chase positively as Joe Root and Jordan Cox compiled a 47-run partnership to move the visitors to 90-2. Root departed for a run-a-ball 31 and Cox accelerated to 44 from 28 balls, leaving Fire requiring 15 from eight deliveries with six wickets in hand.

The chase unravelled when Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Rachin Ravindra fell in quick succession, bringing the lower order into the contest. Marco Jansen needed a six from the final ball to level; he struck at David Willey over midwicket in an attempt to clear the rope but was caught by Jamie Overton at deep, leaving Welsh Fire on 125-7. David Willey finished with figures of 3-20.

London Spirit ended their group campaign seventh in the table with three wins.

The group phase concludes today; the competition pauses on Thursday and the knockouts begin on Friday. Both Eliminator matches will be held at The Oval, with Sunrisers Leeds facing Southern Brave in the women's Eliminator from 14:15 BST and Manchester Super Giants appearing in the men's Eliminator from 18:00 with their opponent to be determined, and the finals at Lord's scheduled for Sunday with Trent Rockets' men's and women's sides awaiting the Eliminator winners.