Oval Invincibles made it three wins from four in The Hundred with Sam Curran’s all-round heroics proving the difference between the two sides fighting out for bragging rights in the capital.
Curran smashed 51 off 22 balls, single-handedly dragging the Invincibles to a strong total on a tough surface before decimating Spirit’s hopes of chasing 147 in a stunning five-wicket spell that included a hat-trick.
On a Lord’s pitch that offered lateral movement, Invincibles captain Sam Billings chose to bat first, and with the Spirit attack using a bowler-friendly surface, the visitors struggled to 46-2 at the half-time stage.
Olly Stone bowled Will Jacks through the wicket and Liam Dawson dismissed Jordan Cox, who was new to England’s Men’s Test team.
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Curran hit a brilliant half-century off just 21 balls for Oval Invincibles, including three sixes in a row!
Dawid Malan and Billings then hit some big shots before Malan was caught in the box boundary off Matt Critchley for 38 off 29.
Billings struggled to get going and retired himself out in favor of the in-form Donovan Ferreira, but it was Curran who turned the tide, reaching a half-century off 21 deliveries, including three consecutive sixes from Nathan Ellis. The innings took the Invincibles to an impressive 147-5.
In response, the Spirit made through unscathed powerplay, Keaton Jennings and Michael Pepper lead to 35-0.
But after Invincibles’ top-ranking attack play turned silent, with two openers and Ollie Pope fall in quick succession; Jacks removed Jennings lbw, Adam Zampa had a pepper caught with the first ball of Writing, and Nathan Sowter hit a leg break through the Pope defense.
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Charlie Dean Roh jumps in the air for a sensational catch!
Dan Lawrence and Shimron Hetmyer dragged Spirit back to and with 56 required from the final 30 balls, the game is on. But before they could up the ante, Zampa, who finished with a figure of 3-22, fired both Hetmyer (20 of 21) and Lawrence (27 of 18).
Although Andre Russell tried to bludgeon the home hosts, Curran made the Invincibles win certainty by taking only the third hat-trick in the history of the competition The Hundred men to stamp one of the greatest individual performances of the tournament.
Man of the match: Sam Curran
“I’ve had a few battles with Russ (Russell) over the years. The hat-trick ball wasn’t in my mind, it was either me or him, he’d hit me for six or I’d get a wicket.
“It was never done when players like Dan (Lawrence), Hetmyer and Russell were there, so when we got him (Russell) it was a relief.
Brook fires the Superchargers to victory over the Originals
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Harry Brook’s superb 58 off 33 helped Northern Superchargers to victory over Manchester Originals
Harry Brook’s half-century fired Andrew Flintoff’s Northern Superchargers to a 14-run victory over Manchester Originals in The Hundred clash at Headingley.
England’s batsmen made 58 off 33 balls as the Superchargers posted 167-5 after losing the toss before the winless Originals were undone by two runs as they collapsed quickly in the chase.
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Originals’ Phil Salt was run out by Adil Rashid after forgetting to ground the bat
The Superchargers got off to a tough start as Fazalhaq Farooqi took the wicket with the first ball of the match.
Graham Clark and captain Brook rebuilt the innings with a well-built 50-run partnership. Brook went on to blast a half-century before being caught by a superb one-handed diving effort from Scott Currie.
The Originals came back strongly in the end to limit the Superchargers to 167.
Captain Phil Salt and Matty Hurst got the Originals innings off to a flying start with 90 for their opening partnership.
But both were run out – Salt for 40 off 27 balls and the impressive Hurst top-scoring with 78 off 45.
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Scott Currie stopped a crucial run with a brilliant one-handed catch on the boundary
Originals capitulated from 90-0 to 128-4 thanks to spinner Mitchell Santner, who took 2-23.
When Hurst left, the Originals needed 29 from 13 but they were unable to get over the line as no other batter made double figures, leaving them rooted to the bottom of the table.
The Superchargers moved up to third after their third win in four matches.
Man of the match: Harry Brook
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Brook was dropped after this catch by Currie, but the Headingley crowd were convinced that the ball had not been carried.
“I felt like they were the favorites coming off the powerplay, but we just couldn’t trust them at the death to win,” Brook said.
“The pitch came out so fast that I didn’t feel like I had to hit the ball in the air, so I just tried to get through the gaps and work.
“I just tried to stay in until the end so I could push at the end. I felt good at the beginning and thank you very much I hit some gaps.”
What’s next?
The hundreds continue with two matches on Monday. Welsh Fire and Brave South Women get the day started at 3pm followed by men at 6.30pm, with both matches live on Sky Sports Cricket. Stream The Hundred and other sports with NOW.
