A record number of spectators attended Lord’s as the popularity of The Hundred continues to increase; the Invincibles now move into the top three of the men’s standings; Spirit remain second after just their second defeat of the competition
Last Updated: 27/08/22 11:09pm
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Highlights of The Hundred clash between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles
Highlights of The Hundred clash between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles
A half-century from opening batsman Will Jacks coupled with Sam Curran’s three wickets helped the Oval Invincibles beat London Spirit in The Hundred.
A record crowd of 27,448 spectators flocked to Lord’s as a good all-round performance saw the Invincibles become the first visiting team to chase down a target at the home of cricket this season, allowing them to inflict the second defeat of the competition on London Spirit.
It pushes them into the top three as the men’s standings tighten up with competition to make it through to the latter stages intensifying.
After Jacks, who hit seven boundaries and a pair of sixes for 54 off of 38 balls, was caught by Jordan Thompson, Rilee Roussouw (24) and Tom Curran (19*) helped see the Invincibles home.
Story of the game
Sam Curran starred with three for 16 to reignite Oval Invincibles’ hopes in the Hundred as they triumphed by six wickets in their derby clash against London Spirit at Lord’s.
Curran produced his best figures in the tournament – a miserly display that was matched by his brother Tom, who went wicketless but also conceded only 16 to ensure the home side were restricted to 122 for seven.
That never looked a defendable total and Jacks struck a buoyant 54 from 38 balls as Invincibles sealed victory with 14 balls to spare, taking revenge for their three-run loss to Spirit at the start of the competition.
Oval Invincibles batsman Will Jacks struck the ball superbly during his innings
The win lifts Invincibles to joint third in the table, with a crucial final game against Manchester Originals to come on Wednesday, while Spirit will still clinch qualification if they beat Birmingham Phoenix a day earlier.
Having opted to bat, Spirit made a stuttering start as Ben McDermott swung and missed Peter Hatzoglou’s first legitimate Hundred ball to depart without scoring and Josh Inglis heaved Matt Milnes into the hands of deep square leg.
Adam Rossington (36 from 22) gave the innings some impetus with successive boundaries off Milnes and then slammed Hatzoglou over the top for a maximum.
However, once Sam Curran had trapped Rossington leg before shuffling across, the visitors began to turn the screw and two wickets in as many deliveries from Jacks reduced Spirit to 67 for five.
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Watch Matt Milnes’ incredible one-handed catch in Oval Invincibles’ victory over London Spirit!
Milnes held a spectacular flying one-handed catch at point to dismiss Dan Lawrence before Jacks neatly deflected Ravi Bopara’s drive onto the stumps to snare the prize scalp of Eoin Morgan, run out for five.
Jordan Thompson (27 from 19) threw the bat as he and Bopara staged a mini-recovery with their stand of 43 from 31, but Sam Curran returned to remove both and tight death bowling ensured the Invincibles would chase a modest target.
With Jason Roy sidelined by a back strain, Jordan Cox moved up to open, but he was required to play only a supporting role as Jacks immediately set about the Spirit bowling.
Mason Crane’s first two deliveries both disappeared over the fence – the second of them narrowly evading the clutches of Bopara, who then put down a chance coming in from the boundary when Jacks swept Lawrence.
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Following his side’s victory over London Spirit, Oval Invincibles captain Sam Billings says that it was a ‘big win’
Although Liam Dawson made the breakthrough with a ball that turned to bowl Cox, it was not enough to stem the flow of runs as Jacks joined forces with Rossouw (24 from 22) in a partnership of 58.
Both were eventually caught in the deep, paving the way for the Currans to resume centre stage and, although Sam was deftly caught by Crane on the boundary, Tom struck a brisk 19 not out before Sam Billings edged Thompson for four to confirm victory.
Hero of the Match: Sam Curran (3 wickets from 20 balls, 16 runs conceded)
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Following Oval Invincibles’ victory over London Spirit, Cazoo match hero Sam Curran says that the win was ‘great’ for his side and admitted how much they needed it
“Win our last two games, including this evening, we know we’ll get pretty close and give ourselves a chance and obviously in that position there [tonight] as well we knew that net run rate might come into it, so great win for us guys will take huge confidence on to Wednesday at Old Trafford.
“I think (Will) Jacks is probably the one he should be standing here, I think he had an amazing knock and he’s done it for us throughout the season. He killed the chase for us and that’s in the middle order there, we knew we had one job and I was just trying to hit every ball to the boundary and Tom came in played a beautiful little knock towards the end there which put that little doubt in our minds back to bed and we move on to Wednesday hoping for victory.
“Yeah, it’s really hard I think we’ve probably had so many changes recently with obviously injured guys leaving here and there as well. So it’s been difficult but hopefully for these last two games when it matters we can form a little bond. Most importantly we got those points we needed tonight and there’s going to be a lot of players in it or teams in that second, third, fourth spot watching the game tomorrow night is about because every game is important.”
What’s next?
The Birmingham Phoenix and Manchester Originals face off in Sunday’s action in The Hundred.
Phoenix vs Originals
August 28, 2022, 3:00pm
Live on 
Phoenix vs Originals
August 28, 2022, 6:30pm
Live on
The Originals’ men’s team now have a chance to pull above Birmingham with a win, whereas Manchester’s women have just one victory under their belts and will need to upset the odds to make the latter stages now.
The women’s action gets under way live on Sky Sports Mix from 3pm at Edgbaston on Sunday, and the men’s game starts at 6.30pm. The men’s match will also be shown live on Sky Sports Cricket from 6.45pm.
Watch every match from The Hundred this summer live on Sky Sports.
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