Welsh Fire 138 for 4 (Salt 47*) beat Southern Brave 135 for 7 (Miller 44, Rew 41) by six wickets

While the Fire always had the edge, it shouldn’t have been that close. Salt’s third-wicket partnership of 49 with Rachin Ravindra (24 from 16) looked to have settled matters, but when Ravindra holed out to the leg-spin of Nikhil Chaudhary, the Fire stuttered to the line.

With 20 balls remaining, Fire needed just 19. But Adil Rashid’s final five balls went for just a single to ignite the crowd of 8,452, and when Jofra Archer’s follow-up 10 deliveries leaked just nine runs, it left the Fire needing nine from five.

Salt’s coolness, allied to a precious clubbed boundary from Asa Tribe, ensured that the Fire got it done.

The Fire were superbly disciplined in the field. Bowling first on a tacky pitch, their seam attack varied their pace expertly, with Chris Woakes, Sam Cook and Marco Jansen shackling the Brave’s attempts to break free, conceding just 72 from their combined 60 balls.

Miller took his time to size up the pitch, taking 18 balls to compile his first 10 runs, and progress was further stalled when his South African compatriot Tristan Stubbs fell for just 4 to a brilliant boundary catch from Ben Kellaway.

Miller then let loose, adding a further 34 from his next 17 balls before succumbing to a bullet throw from Ravindra from the penultimate ball of the innings. While a final total of 135-7 looked challenging on a two-paced surface, Salt’s class was the difference, the England T20 opener batting through the chase to deliver his new franchise their first win over the Brave in nine attempts.

Meerkat Match Hero Phil Salt said: “It certainly wasn’t easy out there. That was a good toss to win for us, to be chasing a target, and we’re really pleased with the outcome.

“Sizing up the conditions, I get a bit of an advantage when I keep, I get to have a good look from there. But you always have to give yourself a few balls. In low-scoring games like that, you have to make sure you go deeper and deeper into your innings to ensure you get the impact that you want.

“Rachin’s innings was massively important, at that stage of the innings, we understood that I would drop anchor and he would take the pressure off me, and to get the deficit down to about a run a ball, that was such an important knock for us.

“We were electric in the field. There was some real good catching on display. Bowling-wise we put the ball in the right areas. I feel like we do have a bit more in the tank in all departments. I’m really enjoying the group of lads we’ve got.”