Oval Invincibles begin Hundred with double demolition of ...
Oval Invincibles begin Hundred with double demolition of Birmingham Phoenix
- Defending men’s champions claim eight-wicket victory
- Paige Scholfield hits 71 as women’s side win by 45 runs
Oval Invincibles romped to victory under the lights at the Oval as the fourth year of the Hundred got under way. The pace duo of Saqib Mahmood and Mohammad Amir ripped the heart out of Birmingham Phoenix’s batting lineup, after Moeen Ali won the toss and decided to bat, reducing the visitors to 10 for four after just 17 balls.
Amir and Mahmood took two wickets apiece. After Amanda-Jade Wellington took three for nine for the Oval Invincibles women’s team in the day’s first game, another Australian leg-spinner, Adam Zampa, replicated that success with three for 11.
Jacob Bethell and Benny Howell did their best to repair the top‑order damage for Phoenix, but their eventual total of 89 never looked enough. In reply Invincibles, the defending men’s champions, waltzed to an eight‑wicket win with 31 balls left. Sam Billings, the captain, added some late hitting after Tawanda Muyeye had given the crowd of 23,621 a glimpse of his talent with a 14-ball 23.
Zampa said: “It was nice to start that way, especially at home, and it was good for us to continue our success from last year. It’s a good feeling and it’s nice to be in the winner’s circle straight away. It’s a really enjoyable competition, I love playing in the Hundred. You feel like it’s a really alien concept but once you’re playing in it, it’s Twenty20 cricket with a couple of tactical changes.”
Earlier, a sparkling 71 from Paige Scholfield took the Invincibles women’s side to a 45-run victory against Birmingham Phoenix.
After the two-time champions were put in to bat, the 28-year-old – enjoying a new role at the top of the order in the absence of the Sri Lanka captain, Chamari Athapaththu – found admirable company with England’s Alice Capsey, who made 52.
The pair put on 90 for the second wicket and appeared to be threatening a record score before a flurry of late wickets pegged back Invincibles’ progress.
Defending 150, the odds were in the home team’s favour and when Birmingham lost three wickets with the score on 32 their fate was effectively secured. The New Zealand captain, Sophie Devine, and Amy Jones put up some resistance but Invincibles’ bowling attack – and in particular the leg-spinner Jade Wellington – proved too strong.
“I’m absolutely buzzing,” Scholfield said. “It’s the first time I’ve opened so I was a bit nervous but I had Lozzy [Lauren Winfield‑Hill] there helping me through those first 10 balls and I got a nice feel for the pitch.”
- The Hundred
- Cricket
- news