Vince smashed an unbeaten 71 from 41 balls against Welsh Fire to continue a stunning run of form in white-ball cricket which saw him top the run-scoring charts in the Vitality Blast and has boosted his chances of an England recall
Chris Jordan described teammate James Vince as a "class act" after the Southern Brave captain led the defending champions to a comfortable nine-wicket victory over Welsh Fire.
Vince smashed an unbeaten 71 from 41 balls to continue a stunning run of form in white-ball cricket, which saw him top the run-scoring charts in the Vitality Blast and has boosted his chances of an England recall ahead of the T20 World Cup in October.
"He must have as good a chance of anyone [breaking into the England T20 World Cup squad]," Jordan said. "He has been in consistent form all summer.
"I'm not sure if you ask him whether he’ll be thinking about that at the moment as he's concentrating on Southern Brave but whatever comes on the back of that, comes on the back of it.
James Vince has been backed for an England call-up by Chris Jordan [Getty Images]
"Vincey is a very good leader and a top guy. He's so easy on the eye, especially when he plays that lovely cover drive.
"He's always a couple of steps ahead of the game. All the moves he makes seem to land."
Brave's comprehensive win maintains their 100 per cent home record across the men's and women's Hundred.
But Jordan isn't getting carried away by the hopes of back-to-back winners' medals. He said: "It's a great feeling to start with a home win. Last year the support was amazing and it was great to see people come out in their numbers for the first season and also to put on a decent show for them. Hopefully, we can build some momentum from that.
"Having won it last year having not had a good start, we really wanted to have a good start this year. It is a good benchmark we set tonight.
"We have a lot of belief in our own squad but cricket is still played on the day. We still need to respect our opponents and keep our feet firmly on the ground. We'll take it a game at a time and see where we get to."
Ben Duckett, who top scored for Fire with 40, acknowledged that playing the Brave at the Ageas Bowl was an especially tough start to their campaign.
Jordan in action for Southern Brave on Wednesday [Getty Images]
But the former captain pledged that the Cardiff-based side would continue their positive approach with the bat, which saw them lose three wickets in the powerplay, ahead of their first home match against Oval Invincibles on Sunday.
"I'd say we'll go even harder next time,” Duckett said. "Unfortunately when you do look to take the positive option, you can have results like tonight, but I think in a tournament you can lose more games if you start moving away from what you’re trying to do.
"I feel like this year we're an even stronger team. With pace, power and wrist spin, we’ve got all bases covered.
"From start to finish we were beaten by the better team who know the dimensions of this ground very well. Losing regular wickets didn’t allow us to get going on a big ground where it’s hard to hit boundaries. Vincey captains here all year round and it’s a very tough place to come and win games."
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