Welsh Fire 2026: Full Squad, New Signings & The Hundred Fixtures

Welsh Fire 2026: full squad, new signings, and their Hundred fixtures

By Duane Martin · Cricket Daily

Welsh Fire have long been the nearly team of The Hundred, the one franchise representing a whole nation rather than a city, and the only men's side yet to make a real dent in the competition. In 2026 they are trying to change that with their strongest squad yet.

New co-owners have arrived in the shape of Washington Freedom, the Major League Cricket champions, sitting alongside Glamorgan. On the field, the headline is Joe Root joining the Cardiff-based side, with Phil Salt captaining, Mike Hussey continuing as head coach, and a top order packed with match-winners.

Here is the full squad, the new arrivals, and every fixture Welsh Fire play this summer.

Two quick questions before the season

When do Welsh Fire start their Hundred 2026 campaign?

The tournament runs from July 21 to August 16, 2026, with the eliminator at the Kia Oval on August 14 and the final at Lord's on August 16. Welsh Fire open away at Southern Brave at the Utilita Bowl on Wednesday, July 22, and play their first home game against MI London at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Saturday, July 25.

Who are Welsh Fire's new signings for 2026?

The pre-auction business brought in Phil Salt as captain, along with Rachin Ravindra and Marco Jansen, with Chris Woakes retained. At the auction, the standout additions were Joe Root and keeper-batter Jordan Cox, backed by Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Lockie Ferguson, Matthew Short and Sam Cook. Jordan Clark and Dillon Pennington came in through the Wildcard Draft.

The new signings, explained

Welsh Fire went into 2026 with fresh ownership and fresh ambition. As part of the sport's investment process, Glamorgan retained a majority stake while Washington Freedom, the MLC franchise owned by Sanjay Govil, bought roughly half of the club and took operational control in October 2025. That link had already brought Steve

Smith to Cardiff in 2025, and it now underpins a bolder recruitment drive.

The pre-auction signings set the platform. Phil Salt, the most expensive man in the squad at £450,000, arrives to open the batting and lead the side. Rachin Ravindra adds a stylish left-hander who bowls handy spin, and Marco Jansen brings genuine pace and lower-order power, while Chris Woakes was retained for his new-ball skill.

Then came the eye-catcher. Joe Root, one of the greatest Test batters of his generation, was landed at the auction for £240,000, a clear sign of how the new bidding era has reshaped the English market. Alongside him, Jordan Cox was a £300,000 buy behind the stumps, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Lockie Ferguson, Matthew Short, Asa Tribe and Sam Cook adding depth across departments. The Wildcard Draft then completed the group with Jordan Clark and Dillon Pennington.

Mike Hussey stays on as head coach. Welsh Fire have never won the men's competition, with a fourth-place finish in 2023 their high-water mark, so this squad is built to finally push into the knockout stages.

Welsh Fire full squad 2026

Batters

• Joe Root
• Asa Tribe
• Tom Kohler-Cadmore

All-rounders

• Matthew Short (batting allrounder)
• Rachin Ravindra (batting allrounder)
• Ben Kellaway (batting allrounder)
• Marco Jansen (bowling allrounder)
• Chris Woakes (bowling allrounder)
• Jordan Clark (bowling allrounder)

Wicketkeepers

• Phil Salt (captain)
• Jordan Cox

Bowlers

• Lockie Ferguson
• Thomas Aspinwall
• Sam Cook
• Jafer Chohan
• Dillon Pennington

That is a batting order with real class, from Root and Salt at the top to the all-round firepower of Ravindra, Jansen and Short, backed by an attack that pairs Ferguson's raw pace with the control of Woakes, Cook and leg-spinner Chohan.

Welsh Fire fixtures: The Hundred 2026

Every team plays eight group games, meeting six sides once and their local rivals twice. For the Fire, that repeat fixture is Southern Brave, whom they face home and away. Four of their eight games are at Sophia Gardens. Times below are local UK time (BST), which applies at every ground, alongside IST for readers following from the subcontinent.

Good news for fans in India and Pakistan: Welsh Fire have the most subcontinent-friendly schedule of any side. Six of their eight games start between 7:00 PM and 7:30 PM IST, with only the July 22 opener and the August 3 Cardiff clash pushing into late-night viewing around 11:00 PM IST.

Where to watch and what's at stake

In the UK, Sky Sports is the home of The Hundred with every match live. The BBC carries all games live on BBC Sounds, shows 16 matches live on BBC TV, and posts highlights on BBC iPlayer and its sport site.

The men's and women's sides that finish top of their group tables go straight to the final at Lord's on August 16. The teams placed second and third meet in the eliminator at the Kia Oval on August 14 to decide who joins them.

With Root and Salt leading a much-improved batting line-up and Ferguson and Jansen giving the attack teeth, Welsh Fire finally look like a side that can trouble the big guns, especially at a fortress-like Sophia Gardens. Their campaign begins in Southampton on July 22.

Quick links

• The Hundred 2026 News
• The Hundred 2026 Matches
• The Hundred 2026 Table
• The Hundred 2026 Download PDF

For scores, ticket links, and the rest of the tournament, keep it locked to Cricket Daily through the season.