During the 17th match of The Hundred Men’s competition on August 5 at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff, Kieron Pollard nearly struck legendary Sri Lankan cricketer Kumar Sangakkara in the commentary box. Pollard came in to bat at number five for Southern Brave when the score was 103/3 and quickly scored 17 runs off 12 balls, including two sixes.
One of his sixes flew into the commentary box near the fine leg boundary, narrowly missing Sangakkara and his fellow commentator Robert Croft. This happened on the 84th ball of the match when Pollard hit a short delivery from Haris Rauf towards fine leg.
The ball struck the commentary box, causing both Sangakkara and Croft to duck and shield their faces. Croft was particularly startled and complained to his team members for not warning him about the incoming ball.
Returning to the game, Southern Brave batted first and scored 139 runs for 5 wickets. Captain James Vince was the top scorer with 73 runs (made in 50 balls), including seven boundaries and three sixes. Southern Brave had a good start as Alex Davies and James Vince added 55 runs for the first wicket in 42 balls.
After Davies was out, Vince continued to score runs and was supported by Leus du Plooy (21 runs in 13 balls) and Pollard (17 runs in 12 balls). Rauf was the best bowler for Welsh Fire, taking 2 wickets for 22 runs in 20 balls.
In response, Welsh Fire struggled to chase the target and were all out for 97 runs in 95 balls, giving Southern Brave a 42-run victory. Tymal Mills was the standout bowler for Southern Brave, taking 4 wickets for 16 runs in 20 balls, while Danny Briggs took 3 wickets for 14 runs.
After their win, Southern Brave remained at the top of the points table with eight points from five matches, while Welsh Fire are in fifth place with four points from five matches.
