Warner trumps Bairstow as Welsh Fire fall just short courtesy of an unbeaten 70 from the Australian opener.
Warner, Spirit take spoils despite Bairstow fire.
Despite a spectacular, undefeated 86 from Jonny Bairstow in response, London Spirit defeated Welsh Fire in Cardiff thanks to David Warner’s first half-century in the Hundred.
At the halfway mark of their reply, Bairstow’s Fire squad was down 55 for 6, and he took the hits like a boxer on ropes before mounting a high-octane counterattack that nearly led to a historic triumph.
Six sixes were hit in Bairstow’s 50-ball innings, which saw 74 runs scored from balls 66 to 95. The final five balls of the innings needed 17 runs. It looked like Bairstow, who was well-supported by Chris Green, would make a strong comeback as the Sophia Gardens crowd erupted in ‘Wales, Wales, Wales!’ but Luke Wood got Spirit over the finish line.
Although Warner’s performance was different, it was just as successful in pushing the visitors. The Australian legend used his knowledge and skill to calculate a manageable total on a pitch that had something to offer bowlers.
Liam Dawson and Richard Gleeson were both frugal with the ball prior to the Bairstow show, and although they may have momentarily worried that their efforts would be undone, it was the runs on the board that won in the end, with Justin Langer and Kane Williamson getting off and running and condemning Fire to a second loss in two.
Warner, the Meerkat Match Hero, said: “That got very close at the end, and credit to the way Jonny and Greeny batted. They were absolutely superb. The partnership they built was fantastic, and what it did do was what we’re trying to do here – entertain the crowd and hopefully everyone was excited by that game.
“I think what the guys were saying there was that across the last 25-30 balls it wasn’t that stoppy. It skidded, but it was still slow in the wicket. We tried to execute as well as we could but Jonny was on fire there, he was hitting the ball cleanly and obviously we got over the line but it was a good effort by them.
“When you’re out there batting, the five balls and then 10 balls from one end – you think you have to change ends as a batter. I’m getting used to it, but what I am loving is the crowds. It’s fantastic. It’s all about the kids, and us trying to put entertainment on the TV – credit to everyone who came out today, thank you.
“This is a really important win for us. We lost our first game at home but we’ve got an away game in Manchester coming up, and hopefully we can tick that off.”