London Spirit 96 for 7 (Hetmyer 30, Lawrence 29, Henry 3-19) beat Welsh Fire 94 for 9 (Dawson 3-10, Ellis 3-16) by three wickets
London Spirit clinched their first victory in The Hundred men's competition at Lord's by defeating Welsh Fire by three wickets in a low-scoring match.
Liam Dawson and Nathan Ellis each took three wickets, restricting Fire to 94 for nine. Dan Worrall set the tone by bowling 10 consecutive dot balls at the start.
Matt Henry’s three quick wickets gave Fire some hope, but Dan Lawrence’s calm 29 not out, paired with Shimron Hetmyer’s unbeaten 30, led Spirit to victory with 13 balls to spare.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore struggled against Worrall’s opening spell and was soon dismissed after Andre Russell took a catch off Olly Stone. Worrall removed Luke Wells, who hit the only two sixes of the innings, and Dawson bowled Joe Clarke while Jonny Bairstow watched on, facing just two of the first 35 balls.
Bairstow managed a couple of boundaries but was bowled while swiping against Ellis, who claimed his first wicket. Ellis and Dawson then tightened the screws, conceding only 26 runs from their combined 40 balls. Dawson’s skilful bowling on the two-paced surface earned him three for 10 as Fire limped to an insufficient total.
Henry provided early breakthroughs for Fire, dismissing Michael Pepper, Ollie Pope, and Adam Rossington, reducing Spirit to 25 for three. Haris Rauf, who later came close to a hat-trick, caught Ravi Bopara behind before Lawrence and Hetmyer steadied the innings with a 46-run partnership.
Lawrence, after doing much of the heavy lifting, was caught off Rauf, who then bowled Russell the next ball. Hetmyer, despite a dropped catch and a missed stumping by Bairstow, remained and hit a six to secure the win for Spirit.
Meerkat Match Hero Dawson said, "Tonight was a crucial game for us after losing the first two. This win will boost our confidence immensely. I started well; it was a good pitch to bowl on, and I just needed to put the ball in the right areas. It did get a bit tight towards the end."
Spirit captain Lawrence added, "Hopefully, this win will help us build momentum. My mistake was trying to finish the game too quickly. I focused on staying in and taking calculated risks."