Oval Invincibles became the first men’s side to win The Hundred back-to-back after they retained the trophy by beating Southern Brave by 17 runs in the final at Lord’s.
Saqib Mahmood (3-17) took three wickets in the space of five deliveries as Brave collapsed from 99-3 to 102-7 while chasing an above-par 147-9 at the ‘Home of Cricket’.
Victory then seemed out of reach for the Brave after the tight bowling from Invincibles left them requiring 34 runs from the final 10 balls with two new batters, Jofra Archer (6no) and Craig Overton (22no), out in the middle, although the latter smashed two sixes in his defiant late knock, but it was not enough to prevent the London side clinching the title again as Brave finished on 130-7.
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Earlier, Tymal Mills (3-33) and Akeal Hosein (3-34) took three wickets apiece for Brave as the Invincibles made their 147-9, with Will Jacks (37) leading the way in a speedy start to the innings after they were inserted to bat.
Sam Curran (25) and Jordan Cox (25) added 46 runs during their third-wicket stand, sharing six boundaries equally, while Tom Curran (24) and Tom Lammonby (16) added 34 runs late on to take their side to what proved to be a defendable total.
Clinical Invincibles produce winning performance
Jacks’ speedy start saw him smash three sixes and two fours from 22 balls, sharing a 44-run opening stand with Dawid Malan.
Jacks was granted an extra life when he was dropped on 31 by Kieron Pollard at long-on but the mistake only cost Brave six runs after he missed a full toss from Mills that crashed into his middle stump.
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Malan, who made 53no in Invincibles’ previous game against Trent Rockets, was dismissed for seven by Archer (2-36) after pulling him towards mid-wicket where Laurie Evans completed a brilliant catch.
Hosein took two wickets in two balls to break the partnership between Sam Curran (25) and Cox which was worth 46 runs.
The left-arm spinner struck again in the following set to dismiss Donovan Ferreira (5) with the help of Pollard, who made up for his earlier mistake by completing a catch at long-on, to initiate a collapse.
Cox top-edged a short ball from Mills towards short fine leg where Alex Davies bagged it safely as the Invincibles lost four wickets in 10 deliveries.
Tom Curran whacked Archer for two sixes over deep mid-wicket and the leg-side boundary, but his cameo was brought to an end after he ballooned a short ball into the deep where James Coles took a superb diving catch.
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Lammonby added 16 but was forced to depart after he top-edged Mills into the safe hands of Chris Jordan. The England pacer picked up a wicket with the final ball of the innings with a fuller delivery that cannoned into Nathan Sowter’s (2) stumps, but by then the Invincibles had posted an above par 147-9.
Brave struggle against spin
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James Vince (24), the leading run-scorer in the tournament this year, and Davies (35) cruised to 58-0 as the Brave started their reply strongly, but the Invincibles took two wickets in the space of five deliveries to send both openers back to the dugout.
Davies missed a leg-side swipe and was bowled by Adam Zampa (2-26) before Jacks clattered Vince’s stumps with a delivery that spun and cramped him for room, leaving Brave 61-2.
Coles (4) looked to take on the short side at Lord’s but holed out to deep mid-wicket as Brave’s gloom deepened with them still requiring 82 runs from 47 balls.
Leus du Plooy (20) slapped Mahmood through the covers for four but fell the very next delivery after his leg stump was uprooted.
Mahmood was entrusted to continue bowling the following set and repaid his captain Sam Billings’ faith by trapping the dangerous Pollard lbw for a duck and having Laurie Evans (16) caught at short cover within three balls.
Zampa struck again, bowling Jordan (1) cheaply to leave Overton and Archer at the crease and, despite the latter hitting two sixes and a four, Brave came up short.
Mahmood: I got on a roll
Player of the Match Saqib Mahmood took 3-17 from 20 balls for Invincibles:
“To get the backing of the coach to go again and bowl 10 balls in a row spurred me on a little bit and I repaid that.
“I wanted to bring the stumps into play and be aggressive. You get on a roll and I tried to keep it simple, which is what Sam Curran told me.”
Curran named Player of the Hundred
Player of the Tournament Sam Curran, who picked up 15 wickets and scored 200 runs:
“I don’t care if I am a batting all-rounder or a bowling all-rounder, I am a two-time Hundred winner so that’s all that matters.”
Billings: These are the days you live for
Oval Invincibles captain Sam Billings:
“You don’t get many moments like this in your career so you have to enjoy it. It was a real team effort. These are the days you live for.
“[Head coach] Tom Moody is a genius and that trust has been built among the core players. The backroom staff do such a good job.”
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