Southern Brave Men were the inaugural champions of The Hundred in 2021 but they have come up short in four subsequent seasons.
The Brave start their 2026 campaign on Wednesday, when they welcome Welsh Fire Men to Southampton's Rose Bowl.
The Fire ended up with the wooden spoon last summer but their exciting new-look squad includes England batters Phil Salt, Jordan Cox and Joe Root.
Southern Brave Men v Welsh Fire Men Tips Summary
Best Bet - Welsh Fire to win @ 11/10
Alternative Bet - Marcus Stoinis to be top Southern Brave batter @ 10/1
Bet Builder - Tristan Stubbs under 22.5 runs, Joe Root to hit most fours for Welsh Fire & Marco Jansen 1+ wicket @ 15/2
Southern Brave Men v Welsh Fire Men Prediction
Best Bet: Welsh Fire to win @ 11/10
Welsh Fire Men have a shocking record against Southern Brave Men, winning only one of the nine meetings between the teams.
However, both teams had major squad overhauls during the off-season and the Fire should be backed to fly out of the traps at the Rose Bowl.
New captain Phil Salt is a world-class T20 opener and his fellow batters include England legend Joe Root, New Zealand star Rachin Ravindra and Jordan Cox, the leading runscorer in The Hundred last season.
South Africa's Marco Jansen and New Zealand's Lockie Ferguson lead the pace attack and they can rattle an unconvincing Brave batting unit.
Opener Jamie Smith has lost his place in England's white-ball teams and James Vince, who captained the Brave in the first five seasons of the 100-ball tournament, has signed for MI London.
There is no shortage of experience in a bowling attack featuring Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Luke Wood and Adil Rashid but the Brave may struggle to contain the Fire's dangerous hitters.
Alternative Bet: Marcus Stoinis to be top Southern Brave batter @ 10/1
Even though teams face only 100 balls per innings in The Hundred, batting depth is still important.
Welsh Fire are capable of causing damage with the new ball so it is worth backing middle-order man Marcus Stoinis to top-score for Southern Brave.
The Australia all-rounder cracked 146 runs from 96 balls for Trent Rockets last season and he does not need much time at the crease to make an impact.
In the last two IPL seasons, Stoinis had batting strike-rates of 186 and 180 per 100 balls for Punjab Kings and he looks overpriced to lead the way for the hosts.
Southern Brave Men vs Welsh Fire Men Bet Builder Tip
Tristan Stubbs under 22.5 runs
Joe Root to hit most fours for Welsh Fire
Marco Jansen 1+ wicket
Pays 15/2
Tristan Stubbs scored 12 runs in his last three T20 Blast innings for Hampshire and the Southern Brave batter averages only 19.62 in The Hundred.
Welsh Fire's Joe Root looked in sparkling nick during England's ODI series against India, hitting 24 fours in three unbeaten innings, and he can transfer that form to The Hundred.
Marco Jansen has taken 12 wickets in seven T20Is for South Africa this year and the left-arm paceman should strike at least once on his debut for Welsh Fire.
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Key Match Stats
Southern Brave have won their last eight completed matches against Welsh Fire
Brave batter Tristan Stubbs finished the T20 Blast campaign for Hampshire with scores of two, eight and two
Chris Jordan took only two wickets in four games for the Brave in 2025
Welsh Fire lost six of their eight games in The Hundred last season
New Fire signing Jordan Cox was the leading batter in 2025, scoring 367 runs in nine innings
Tom Kohler-Cadmore has hit nine sixes in his last three appearances against Southern Brave
Tactics, Form and Team News
Southern Brave Men will be captained by veteran all-rounder Chris Jordan after James Vince's departure to MI London.
England international Jamie Smith is expected to bat at the top of the order alongside Essex's Michael Pepper or Durham's Ben McKinney.
Predicted lineup: 1 Michael Pepper, 2 Jamie Smith, 3 Thomas Rew (wk), 4 Tom Abell, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 David Miller, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Chris Jordan (c), 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Luke Wood.
Welsh Fire Men should line up with Matthew Short, Rachin Ravindra, Marco Jansen and Lockie Ferguson as their four overseas players.
Young bowlers Tom Aspinwall and Jafer Chohan are likely to start the tournament on the bench.
Predicted lineup: 1 Phil Salt (c), 2 Matthew Short, 3 Jordan Cox (wk), 4 Joe Root, 5 Rachin Ravindra, 6 Tom Kohler-Cadmore, 7 Asa Tribe, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Sam Cook.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
