Cardiff Met alumnus Asa Tribe helping Welsh Fire challenge in The Hundred

Cardiff Met alumnus Asa Tribe is continuing his impressive rise in professional cricket as part of a Welsh Fire side challenging near the top of The Hundred men's competition.

Photo credit Sam Jones

The 22-year-old batter studied Sport Performance Analysis at Cardiff Metropolitan University and progressed through the Cardiff South Wales University Cricket Centre of Excellence before earning his opportunity with Glamorgan. He is now one of the programme's professional graduates, having gone on to represent Jersey, England Lions and Welsh Fire.

Tribe has been part of an excellent start to the competition for Welsh Fire, who have won four of their first five matches.

A strong start

Fire's campaign began with a six-wicket win over Southern Brave at the Utilita Bowl. Chasing 136, Tribe joined captain Phil Salt with 19 runs still needed and helped guide Fire home, finishing unbeaten on 11, striking an important boundary from the first ball of the final set after being kept relatively quiet earlier in his innings.

That victory was followed by a 15-run home win over reigning champions MI London. Tribe wasn't required to bat after Rachin Ravindra's 98 helped Fire post 167 for five, but he made a key contribution in the field, taking the catch that dismissed dangerous batter Nicholas Pooran.

Fire's only defeat so far came against Trent Rockets at Sophia Gardens, where they were restricted to 122 for seven before the visitors completed a nine-wicket win. Tribe again finished unbeaten, scoring 13 from 14 balls as the innings closed out.

Welsh Fire bounced back at Edgbaston, beating Birmingham Phoenix by seven wickets after chasing down 138. Tribe took the catch that removed Scott Currie, while an unbeaten 58 from Joe Root sealed the win.

A fourth victory from five games followed against Southern Brave at Sophia Gardens. Sam Cook helped restrict the visitors to 115 for eight, before an unbeaten 60 from Matt Short secured another six-wicket win, moving Fire level on points with Trent Rockets near the top of the table.

Asa in action for Glamorgan Cricket - photo courtesy of Glamorgan CC

Important fixtures ahead

Welsh Fire continue their campaign away to Manchester Super Giants on Wednesday 5 August, before travelling to Headingley to face SunRisers Leeds on Sunday 9 August.

The meeting with SunRisers looks set to be one of Fire's toughest tests of the competition. Leeds have moved onto three wins from five, having recorded the highest total in The Hundred's history against London Spirit, reaching 241 for two on the back of major contributions from Ryan Rickelton, Mitchell Marsh and Harry Brook.

Fire then return to Sophia Gardens on Wednesday 12 August for their final scheduled group fixture, against London Spirit. The home double-header gives supporters another chance to see Tribe in action alongside a Welsh Fire squad featuring some of the biggest names in the game, including Salt, Root, Chris Woakes and Jordan Cox.

Tribe's journey from university cricket at Cardiff Met to representing Glamorgan, England Lions and Welsh Fire is a strong example of the university cricket pathway in action, and reflects the performance and profile ambitions at the heart of Cardiff Met Sport's long-term strategy.