With a devastating reverse-swing spell, Saquib Mahmood of Oval Invincibles won the Hundred final at Lord’s, putting two years of injury behind him. Mahmood provided a timely reminder of his abilities on the biggest stage in English domestic cricket when he dismissed Leus du Plooy, Kieron Pollard, and Laurie Evans to take 3 for 1 in seven balls with the Southern Braves’ 148 chase hanging in the balance.
“Oval Invincibles win back-to-back titles thanks to Saqib’s scorching spell.”
The Invincibles men of 2023–24 equalled their women’s accomplishment of 2021–22 by keeping the trophy, meaning the best team in the Hundred won their second consecutive title. They had succeeded in creating the most distinct identity of any team in the men’s division, as evidenced by the fact that they had managed to hang onto Mahmood despite his repeated absences due to back stress fractures.The Invincibles have only lost three games in the previous two seasons, so they haven’t exactly lived up to their name. With the best balance of any team in the competition, Sam Billings and Tom Moody, their captain and coach, have built their team around three all-round players in the top seven: Will Jacks and the Curran brothers.
With that set of ten, Saqib Mahmood entered the game and altered it. That marked a sea change, according to Billings. “The entire time, there has been a true team effort—possibly even better than last year… These are the nights to truly remember and treasure, as a group of friends as much as colleagues, because your career goes by very quickly. It all comes down to trophies won.With 34 wickets between them this season, the Invincibles can brag of having the most successful spin attack in the Hundred, thanks to four more wickets taken by Adam Zampa, Nathan Sowter, and Jacks in Sunday’s final in front of a packed house at Lord’s.
After a strong start in the Powerplay, Zampa made a significant breakthrough in his second set of five when he bowled Alex Davies for 35 off 23 with a googly. After dismissing James Vince, the team’s top run scorer, with a bowl intended to hack leg-side, Jacks erupted in celebration. Vince had earlier set the game up for the Invincibles with 37 off 22 balls.However, with seven wickets remaining, the Brave only required a respectable 53 off 30 after Evans got under Zampa’s skin, slog-sweeping successive balls for four and six. When Mahmood went full and straight after Du Plooy launched him past Dawid Malan’s sprawling dive at extra cover, he retreated to the next ball and lost his leg stump.
After three dots to Pollard, Mahmood had the old ball going both ways and continued for a second consecutive set of five from the Nursery End. After taking a quick breather during the strategic timeout, Mahmood unleashed a full-on assault, hitting Pollard on the knee roll and forcing Evans to chip in for short cover, which completely unravelled the chase.Mahmood’s influence will have jostled England’s selectors ahead of their three T20I and five ODI tours of Australia in September. He hasn’t played for his country’s cricket team since March 2023. Had Spencer Johnson been well, he would not have been in Sunday’s final, but he did look back to his incredible best.The Braves’ last hope came from Chris Jordan, who had just played a game-winning hand in the “Super Five,” which determined Saturday’s elimination. The Invincibles’ name was back on the trophy when Zampa, who had taken 19 wickets this season, thrashed him third-ball.
In their thrilling victory over Manchester Originals in the previous year’s championship game, the Invincibles rallied from 34 for 5 at the outset, but Jacks ensured a calm beginning this time around. After hitting early sixes off Craig Overton, Jofra Archer, and Akeal Hosein, he raced to 31 off 14 balls. Pollard then gave him a reprieve when he dropped an easy chance at long-on.For his first time playing at Lord’s since making his Test debut in the 2019 Ashes, Archer displayed skill with the new ball as Jacks top-edged a short ball into his helmet. After Tymal Mills removed his opening partner Jacks for 37 after his full toss slid under the bat and crashed into middle and off stumps, he had Malan caught at deep midwicket for 7.After Sam Curran and Jordan Cox put on 46 for the third wicket, Hosein caused a mini-collapse with a run of ten balls in a row that were delivered from opposite ends. Donovan Ferreira played around a straight one, Curran skied to cover, and Billings holed out to Pollard on the long-on boundary. After Mills’ short ball was top-edged to Alex Davies by Cox, the Invincibles were down 4 for 9.
The captain of their 2023 victory, Tom Curran, struck for 24 off 11 balls to keep the innings going. He even produced an amazing six-ball over extra cover off Archer. However, Curran was caught brilliantly by James Coles at deep square leg, and Tom Lammonby added 16 from No. 8 in just his third innings of the year. Their 147 appeared to be slightly above average, and it did.
Brief scores; Southern Brave Men 130 for 7 in 100 balls (Alex Davies 35, James Vince 24, Leus du Plooy 20, Craig Overton 22*; Saquib Mahmood 3-17, Nathan Sowter 1-18, AdamZampa2-26, Will Jacks 1-14) lost to Oval Invincibles Men 147 for 9 in 100 balls (Will Jacks 37, Sam Curran 25, Jordan Cox 25, Tom Curran 24; Tymal Mills 3-33, Akeal Hosein 3-34, Jofra Archer 2-36, Chris Jordan 1-24) by 17 runs (Cricinfo).
