London Spirit and Welsh Fire warm-up for The Hundred 'a total success': Bassett

The pair of women’s teams arrived in Wiltshire for a warm-up game, prior to The Hundred starting for real on Thursday, and served up an absolute treat for those who took advantage of the free entry at Gerard Buxton Sports Ground.

After London Spirit had nudged their way up to 132-7 from their 100 balls, a Welsh Fire side containing Minety’s Fran Wilson and her fellow England international Tammy Beaumont set off like a train before ultimately falling just two runs short of victory.

Both sides stayed for around an hour post-match to sign autographs and take pictures with some of the several-hundred-strong crowd while also sharing bits of advice or simply chatting.

Reflecting on a brilliant day for Bassett, the club’s Women’s coach Jon Davies said: “It was a fantastic day. For the club and cricket in general, it seemed to be a real success.

“I don’t quite know how many people were there, but it was certainly in the hundreds. We couldn’t have asked for better weather, it was a beautiful day.

“The ice creams and the pizzas seemed to go down well, and there was a fantastic game of cricket in front of us as well. You couldn’t ask for a better Sunday!”

Following a game against the Marylebone Cricket Club in 2021 and now a warm-up game for The Hundred, Davies says Bassett are hopeful they can host high-profile fixtures more regularly.

“Around the club, it was so well-received,” said Davies.

“Everyone after was absolutely buzzing, and I think the hope is that because it was such a good day, should this kind of opportunity arise again we might get the nod.

“Everybody in the club was absolutely ecstatic, and we had so many messages from people saying what a great day they had and congratulations for hosting it so well.

“For a club and as a county, it was really important to show what we could do as well.”