Oval Invincibles hit 139 of 98 balls after Manchester Originals scored 135 of 100 balls in the first game of the new tournament; 7,395 fans attend as, for the first time, a major UK team sporting event is launched with a women’s match.
It was high-quality, high-energy entertainment at the Kia Oval as the Oval Invincibles hosted Manchester Originals at The Hundred opener.
The Oval Invincibles win an exciting game! What a way to start The Hundred! There were only two balls left to spare when Invincibles captain Dane van Niekerk made the winning races to send home fans into the Kia Oval with excitement!
Dane van Niekerk! There were several high-quality performances: Manchester Originals’ Kate Cross took three wickets for 28 runs to upset Invincibles and Marizanne Kapp hit 38 of 27 balls for Invincibles, but Van Niekerk was the winner of the match with 56 of 42 balls.
The Invincibles needed 15 nine-ball runs when Mady Villiers knocked the world’s best bowler, Sophie Ecclestone, to the ground for six runs! It was an incredible shot at a tense moment in the game and kept the hosts on track to victory after a 73 save from Van Niekerk and Marizanne Kapp (38 of 27 balls).
The first six of The Hundred! Lizelle Lee hit the ball hard for her 42 of 39 balls and Harmanpreet Kaur’s 29 of 16 balls were packed with classy shots, but it was Originals captain Kate Cross who cleared the ropes for the first time in the tournament with the 94 ball of tickets. – And what a blow it was! His 12 four-ball runs also provided some late fireworks before Cross took two wickets into two balls at the start of Invincibles’ response.
The crowd was delighted when a young woman walked up to sing a great performance of Wiz Khalifa’s ‘See You Again’ through a host’s microphone during a tactical timeout! But the biggest individual ovation came from Van Niekerk as she connected the winning runs to seal her team’s victory, the South African raising her arms in the air in triumph.
Dane van Niekerk: “I couldn’t have asked for a better start. The crowd was amazing. It was amazing to see so many people coming out and supporting us. The team was brilliant from the start. I’m actually very tired. I should hit more.” limits!”
Kate Cross: “What a night! I don’t think we could have asked for a better opening game. I told the girls beforehand: ‘We are making history tonight and the result is almost irrelevant’; I just wanted you to enjoy it and it seemed like we had a lot of fun “.
The action continues with Invincibles and Originals facing off again, but this time in the men’s competition! You can watch live on Sky Sports from 6pm on Thursday and watch the live stream on the Sky Sports Cricket YouTube channel!
