[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-short-half-century-sets-fire-past-brave-in-cardiff":82,"category-counts-nav":99,"related-short-half-century-sets-fire-past-brave-in-cardiff":109},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":97,"_path":98},"Short's Half-Century Steers Welsh Fire Past Brave in Cardiff","short-half-century-sets-fire-past-brave-in-cardiff","long-reads","Long Reads: Feature","Elena Rossi","Matt Short's crafted fifty anchors Welsh Fire's fourth win in five Hundred matches as they chase down Southern Brave with six wickets in hand.","2026-08-05 01:20:28","1 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fshort-half-century-sets-fire-past-brave-in-cardiff.webp",[93,94,95,96],"The Hundred","Welsh Fire","Southern Brave","Cricket","## Short's Half-Century Powers Welsh Fire Past Southern Brave at Sophia Gardens\n\nMatt Short's 50 was the cornerstone of Welsh Fire's four-wicket victory over Southern Brave at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Friday, moving the Fire to four wins from five matches.\n\nShort built his innings on placement rather than power, rotating strike efficiently and punishing loose deliveries while avoiding early risk against Brave's frontline bowlers. The partnership he forged in the middle overs stabilized the chase, but the final overs required more aggression as Welsh Fire lost wickets along the way before reaching the target with four wickets remaining.\n\n## Brave's Unconventional Order Could Not Stem the Chase\n\nSouthern Brave introduced bowlers in unusual orders to disrupt Welsh Fire's rhythm. Short and his partners read the plans and targeted harder lengths, exploiting the generous boundaries at Sophia Gardens where the square-leg area offers carry. Brave's death bowlers struggled for line and length in the final overs, and Welsh Fire's ability to sustain a high run rate under pressure exposed gaps in Brave's execution.\n\nThe win strengthens Welsh Fire's position in the top half of the standings. With four from five, they are well placed to secure a playoff berth. Southern Brave face a setback and must regroup. Short's performance reinforces his value to Welsh Fire, his ability to anchor an innings while keeping the scoreboard moving central to their knockout plans.\n\n> *Updated: 2026-08-05 - Result corrected from a six-wicket to a four-wicket victory for Welsh Fire.*","\u002Farticles\u002Fshort-half-century-sets-fire-past-brave-in-cardiff",[100,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,85,108],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","football","general","golf","mma","tennis",[110,123,136],{"id":111,"stem":111,"path":112,"title":113,"category":85,"badge":15,"badgeType":114,"author":115,"authorRole":116,"authorInitials":117,"date":118,"readTime":119,"image":120,"imageAlt":113,"tags":121,"excerpt":122},"mbappe-world-clock-ticking-france-florida-daydream","\u002Farticles\u002Fmbappe-world-clock-ticking-france-florida-daydream","Mbappé's World Clock Is Ticking — And Florida Is Whispering","category","Sarah Martinez","Transfer Correspondent","SM","2026-07-15 20:05:23","7 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002F95f751dfd55da8d4506da468309a987f47029ccd\u002F425_0_4337_3470\u002Fmaster\u002F4337.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=50f41044ce436c5e2a1ada1630e186d6","World Cup, La Liga, MLS","At 23 he conquered the world. At 31, he may be chasing shadows while Inter Miami beckons seductively from the wings.",{"id":124,"stem":124,"path":125,"title":126,"category":85,"badge":127,"badgeType":114,"author":128,"authorRole":129,"authorInitials":130,"date":131,"readTime":132,"image":133,"imageAlt":126,"tags":134,"excerpt":135},"notts-outlaws-t20-blast-north-group-lancashire-thriller","\u002Farticles\u002Fnotts-outlaws-t20-blast-north-group-lancashire-thriller","Stone's Final-Over Heroics Keep Notts Top of T20 Blast North","Feature","James Chen","Senior Football Analyst","JC","2026-07-03 22:45:20","8 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Ffddc\u002Flive\u002Febf1b3d0-7724-11f1-a6a8-ab1cb9bd7f57.jpg","T20 Blast, Vitality Blast, County Cricket","Olly Stone's nerveless final over seals a thriller for Notts Outlaws, keeping them atop the T20 Blast North Group as Lancashire falter.",{"id":137,"stem":137,"path":138,"title":139,"category":85,"badge":127,"badgeType":114,"author":128,"authorRole":129,"authorInitials":130,"date":140,"readTime":141,"image":142,"imageAlt":139,"tags":143,"excerpt":144},"serrano-manzur-knockout-record-womens-boxing","\u002Farticles\u002Fserrano-manzur-knockout-record-womens-boxing","Serrano Chases Boxing Immortality Against Manzur","2026-07-16 19:00:57","5 min read","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fserrano-manzur-knockout-record-womens-boxing.webp","Boxing","Amanda Serrano aims to break the all-time women's knockout record when she defends her unified crown against Lucrecia Manzur."]