The Hundred: Welsh Fire looking ahead to positive summer campaign

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Welsh Fire are looking ahead to a positive campaign in The Hundred this summer, aiming to build on past performances and make a serious push for the title. With fresh talent and renewed confidence, the squad is determined to ignite their season and give fans plenty to cheer about when the action gets underway.

Transcript

00:00Now, amidst the shake-up of the 100 this year, Welsh Fire are gearing up for the new season

00:09and a fresh deal is set to shape their campaign. With big ambitions to improve on past performances,

00:15the team has been making key moves behind the scenes. We're taking a look at what this

00:20new deal means for the squad, how it could impact their chances in the competition and

00:24what fans can expect when they take to the field. With the new season fast approaching,

00:30all eyes will be on whether Welsh Fire can ignite their campaign and make a serious push

00:35for success.

00:36Well, Charles, of course, the cricket season is approaching very soon. We'll have the county

00:43championship starting things firstly, but then, of course, as we get into the midst

00:46of the summer, the 100 will make its return, as it has done for the past couple of years.

00:51It's a tournament that, let's be honest, it divides opinion. Certainly for the women's

00:55game, it's done wonders. But in the men's game, I think, given the fact that you've

00:58already got the Blast and the One Day Cup, it's an interesting one. But certainly this

01:03year, there's a lot of news going into it because, of course, different ownerships and

01:08different stakes have been agreed in terms of the franchises, if that's the way you want

01:12to describe them. But for Welsh Fire, at least, they've agreed what is a takeover. So what's

01:17the latest on that and what could it mean for them in this cricket season?

01:21Yeah, of course, the 100 has been received with a bit of a mixed bag of emotions. Obviously,

01:28the target audience it goes for is families, is young people trying to get into the game,

01:33which is sort of admirable from the ECB and where they want to sort of take the game.

01:39They do need, there has been a decline in youngsters getting into cricket because of

01:44the availability of park pitches, park grounds where kids can go and play cricket. And obviously,

01:52the weather doesn't help, et cetera. So it has been tough for them. So, on that side

01:57of the ball, it's a really appealing sort of format for these people to go midweek with

02:03their families, go and watch it. Very affordable as well. And the fact there's so many different

02:08teams across different regions is also a really nice touch.

02:13On the other hand of that, obviously, it does sort of take the shine away from the likes

02:17of the T20 Blast and One Day Cricket, et cetera. So, yeah, you can see the sort of both sides

02:25of it in terms of that. In terms of the franchises, what it means is the ECB have sold majority

02:33stakes in pretty much every 100 team, which is massive for the competition. It sort of

02:40makes this whole rebrand that's starting from 2026. They're going into that with new sort

02:46of logos, new clothes, et cetera, merchandise to take the sport forward, take the format

02:53forward. And I think it's a massive move. Obviously, Welsh Fire haven't been incredible

02:59in a couple of hundred seasons they've been in. As you say, the Welsh game, the women's

03:06game, sorry, has been monumental for them. But yeah, there's a share sold in them. In

03:13the Welsh Fire especially, that's big. It hasn't sold for as much as, for example, the

03:19London Clubs, London Spirit and Oval Invincibles. They've collected the most due to being in

03:24the capital and playing at Lords and the Oval, for example. But yeah, it's huge for Welsh

03:29Fire, huge for the 100. And this ECB sort of initiative to get these stakes sold was

03:35big. And hopefully, they are hoping it's going to have a real positive impact on cricket

03:41in general. So we could see it from the start of the summer.

03:44And not only that, of course, for the Welsh Fire, they have acquired what is quite a marquee

03:49signing, to be fair to them, with the acquisition of Steve Smith, one of the great modern

03:54batsmen from an Australian perspective, test cricket, OGI cricket, T20 cricket. He's good

04:00across all formats. And yeah, I mean, obviously, the 100 will be a bit different because, of

04:06course, it's probably not what he's massively used to. But it's quite the acquisition there

04:10for the Welsh Fire, whether he can adapt to this different format of the game. But regardless,

04:15it's exciting for them, isn't it?

04:19Oh, incredible. I mean, obviously, Steve Smith, he was set to play for Welsh Fire in the

04:24inaugural season of the competition, which was obviously delayed a year due to the COVID-19

04:28pandemic. So finally, he gets his chance to come over here and really make a move. Now,

04:33obviously, very exciting times for Welsh cricket and getting into the game in terms of

04:40cricket in the nation and where it can take them this summer.

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