Southern Brave open their season at home against local rivals Welsh Fire on Wednesday, July 22, with the women’s match starting at 3:00 PM local (7:30 PM IST) at the Utilita Bowl, ahead of the men’s fixture at the same venue later that evening.
Brave arrive as the most consistently successful franchise in Hundred Women’s history, winners in 2023 and runners-up as recently as last year’s final.
Welsh Fire, by contrast, start a new era under Sophie Devine, the retired White Ferns great who joins as a marquee auction signing. Both sides are yet to play a ball this season, so this one is about first impressions.
SOB vs WEF Match Details
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | Southern Brave Women vs Welsh Fire Women, 2nd Match |
| Series | The Hundred Women’s Competition 2026. Season opener for both franchises. |
| Date | Wednesday, 22 July 2026 |
| Time | 3:00 PM BST local / 2:00 PM GMT / 7:30 PM IST. This game precedes the men’s fixture between the same two sides at the same venue that evening. |
| Venue | Utilita Bowl, Southampton. Southern Brave’s home ground. |
| Format | 100-ball innings per side, five sets of 20 balls, no bowler allowed more than two sets. |
| Captains | Sophie Molineux (Southern Brave), Sophie Devine (Welsh Fire) |
| Form | SOB: Won the title in 2023, then became the first side in the competition’s history to complete an unbeaten eight-match league stage in 2025, before losing the final to Sunrisers Leeds (then Northern Superchargers) by 7 wickets. New season, new captain in Sophie Molineux. WEF: Reached the 2024 final as runners-up to London Spirit, their best campaign to date. Sophie Devine takes over the captaincy this year after her international retirement, having joined as a joint-record £210,000 signing alongside Beth Mooney. |
| H2H | The two sides have a genuine local rivalry as the tournament’s south-coast and Welsh franchises. Welsh Fire pulled off a memorable win over Southern Brave at this very ground during Brave’s 2023 title-winning season, the only blemish on an otherwise dominant campaign, so this fixture has previous. |
Dream11 Team For SOB vs WEF, 2nd Match
Top Picks For SOB vs WEF, 2nd Match
| Player | Team | Role | Key Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lizelle Lee | SOB | Captain / WK | Captain pick. In-form opener fresh off a strong WPL 2026 campaign. Former ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year. At 2x. |
| Sophie Devine | WEF | VC / AR | Vice-Captain pick. New Fire captain, joint-most-expensive auction signing at £210,000. At 1.5x. |
| Laura Wolvaardt | SOB | Batter | South Africa’s captain and one of the most elegant top-order batters in the world game. |
| Jemimah Rodrigues | SOB | Batter | India’s middle-order star, fresh off a strong WPL 2026 stint alongside Lee at Delhi Capitals. |
| Freya Kemp | WEF | All-Rounder | Genuine two-way all-rounder for Fire, capable of hitting hard and bowling seam-up in the middle overs. |
Pitch Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Venue | Utilita Bowl, Southampton. Southern Brave’s home ground since the tournament began in 2021. |
| Pitch Type | A well-balanced surface that has generally rewarded batters once they see off the new ball, with moderate seam movement early and turn available for spinners later in the innings. |
| Scoring | First-innings totals at this ground have often sat in the mid-160s in recent editions, with scores above 170 well within reach on a good batting evening. This is worth double-checking against ESPNcricinfo Statsguru before publishing, since these venue-specific averages can shift from source to source. |
| Pace vs Spin | Seam bowlers such as Lauren Bell and Issy Wong for Brave, and Georgia Wareham and Freya Kemp for Fire, should find something with the new ball, while spin options come into play through the middle overs. |
| Toss Factor | The Utilita Bowl has generally offered a fair contest between bat and ball rather than heavily favouring one side of the toss, so expect captains to size up conditions on the day rather than follow a fixed script. |
Weather Report
| Details | Information |
|---|---|
| Temperature | Around 26°C (78°F), a warm and pleasant Southampton summer afternoon. |
| Sky | Mostly sunny with clear conditions expected through the day. |
| Rain Chance | Low, roughly 10 percent. A clean, uninterrupted match looks likely. |
| Humidity | Moderate, with little expected impact on swing or player stamina. |
| Overall | Good batting and bowling conditions in equal measure, and ideal weather for the opening day of Southern Brave’s home campaign. |
SOB vs WEF Toss Prediction
Neither side has a fresh toss trend to lean on this season, since this is the opening match for both franchises. Given how evenly the Utilita Bowl has generally split between bat and ball, expect the toss winner to assess the pitch and overhead conditions on the day rather than follow a fixed pattern.
**If Sophie Molineux (Southern Brave) wins, **expect her to look to bat first in front of a home crowd, trusting Lizelle Lee and Laura Wolvaardt to lay a platform before Jemimah Rodrigues and Molineux herself accelerate through the middle, backed by Lauren Bell and Issy Wong to defend a total with the new ball.
**If Sophie Devine (Welsh Fire) wins, **In her first game in charge she may prefer to bowl first and chase, using Georgia Wareham and Freya Kemp with the new ball before trusting her own big-match experience to help finish a chase in the back end of the innings.
Injury and Team News
Southern Brave Women:
Southern Brave head into 2026 under a new captain in Sophie Molineux, the Australian all-rounder taking over a squad that remains packed with proven winners.
The retained core of Jemimah Rodrigues, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier and Laura Wolvaardt gives Brave serious top-order depth, while auction additions Lizelle Lee, Issy Wong and Tilly Corteen-Coleman add further firepower. No injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of the opener.
Welsh Fire Women:
Welsh Fire enter 2026 with a fresh look under Sophie Devine, who takes the captaincy in her first season with the franchise after retiring from international cricket.
The squad blends her experience with the likes of Freya Kemp, Georgia Wareham and Georgia Voll, all retained or freshly signed to build around the new captain. No injury concerns have been reported for the squad ahead of the opener.
