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Welsh Fire vs London Spirit The Hundred Predictions - Fire to beat Spirit in last bid for playoffs

Simon Lewis

Editor

Last updated: 11 Aug 2026

Simon Lewis 11 Aug 2026

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The Welsh Fire’s poor net run rate means they must win for a shot at the playoffs.
The London Spirit won their last match after a run of three defeats.
London Spirit cannot make the playoffs so the Welsh Fire will be throwing everything at their opponents.

Expired

Matthew Short has 4 scores of 36-plus in 5 knocks (Getty Images).

Welsh Fire vs London Spirit Predictions

The Welsh Fire are backed for the win as they will be desperate for the victory that could lift them into the playoffs. Form is against them though, having lost their last two matches, while the London Spirit ended a three-match losing streak by beating the Birmingham Phoenix.

Welsh Fire vs London Spirit Predictions
Head-to-Head
Welsh Fire Form
London Spirit Form
Team news

Welsh Fire’s Matthew Short has scored 36, 60*, 71 & 43 in his last 5 knocks.
Welsh Fire’s Joe Root has scores of 58* & 31 in his last 3 innings.
Welsh Fire’s Chris Woakes took 2/41 in the win over the Sunrisers.
London Spirit’s Dewald Brevis has scored 37*, 38 & 55* in his last 5 matches.
London Spirit’s Lhuan-dre Pretorius has scores of 64 & 52 in his last 5 innings.
London Spirit’s Jamie Overton has taken 3/30 & 2/23 in his last 5 matches.

Head-to-Head

Welsh Fire have won two and lost three of their last five matches in The Hundred against the London Spirit, whose three wins came in their last four matches against the Fire.

Welsh Fire Form

Welsh Fire come into this match looking for a strong response after a disappointing 71-run defeat against Sunrisers Leeds. They were put under pressure after Sunrisers posted a commanding 201, and Welsh Fire could only manage 130 in reply. The chase began with some promise, but the innings quickly lost momentum once the main contributors were dismissed.

Matthew Short was again the standout performer with the bat, scoring 43 from 29 deliveries, while Joe Root added a useful 31. However, the rest of the batting line-up failed to build on that platform, leaving Welsh Fire well short of the target.

With the ball, Welsh Fire needed early breakthroughs to contain Sunrisers Leeds, but they struggled to apply pressure in the opening stages. Chris Woakes was the pick of the attack with two wickets, while Jordan Clark and Lockie Ferguson claimed one wicket each.

Overall, the Fire will need a sharper bowling display and more support around Short and Root if they are to bounce back. Short remains a key figure, having scored 238 runs at an average of 47.60 in seven matches this season.

London Spirit Form

London Spirit will arrive with confidence after producing an impressive seven-wicket win over Birmingham Phoenix in their previous match. Birmingham posted a competitive 162, but London Spirit chased the target down comfortably in just 82 balls. Despite losing both openers early, the middle order responded superbly and took control of the match.

Liam Livingstone was the standout performer, blasting 66 from only 30 deliveries in a match-winning innings. Dewald Brevis also played a decisive role, striking a quick-fire 55 to keep Spirit well ahead of the required rate.

With the ball, London Spirit shared the wickets around effectively. James Coles returned figures of 1/25, while Adam Milne, Henry Crocombe and Mason Crane also picked up a wicket each. Their regular breakthroughs helped prevent Birmingham from pushing towards a bigger total.

Livingstone has been a major performer for Spirit this season, scoring 229 runs at a strike rate of 161 in seven matches. His power and form make him central to their hopes once again.

Team news

Sophia Gardens in Cardiff has served up an average first innings score of 135 runs this season.

Welsh Fire (possible XI): Phil Salt (c), Matthew Short, Jordan Cox, Rachin Ravindra, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Marco Jansen, Joe Root, Chris Woakes, Lockie Ferguson, Sam Cook, Marco Jansen.

London Spirit (possible XI): Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Jonny Bairstow, James Rew, Liam Livingston (c), Dewald Brevis, James Coles, Jamie Overton, David Willey, Andrew Tye, Adam Milne, Adam Zampa.

Verdict

Welsh Fire v London Spirit

Welsh Fire are tipped to win, with Matthew Short a good option to back to top score for the Fire. Other players worth backing are Chris Woakes, Dewald Brevis and Jamie Overton.

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Simon is a talented sports writer in South Africa with a strong focus on cricket having played first-team level for UCT, including playing at two Universities Weeks.

From a young age Simon was an avid reader of cricket magazines and books, and went on to be Editor of The Googly, CricketScene SA and SA Cricket, in addition to being a Features Writer on SA Sports Illustrated.

He has interviewed most of South Africa's premier cricketers and was the first writer to interview a teenaged Jacques Kallis.

Simon has also written about English and local football, rugby and cricket, in addition to major international tennis and golf stars and competitions.

You can follow more from Simon at Muckrack, X and LinkedIn.