Oval Invincibles put themselves on course for a place in the men’s Hundred final with victory over London Spirit at home on Monday.
Defending champions Invincibles all but secured their place in the final with a commanding six-wicket win over their London neighbours.
The big-hitting Donovan Ferreira (24 from nine balls) finished off the job at the Kia Oval with his second six as the league leaders needed just 78 balls to overhaul the Spirit’s 152 for seven.
Will Jacks (45 from 27) got the chase off to a flying start before Jordan Cox (47 from 27) and Sam Curran (27 from 13) maintained the momentum.
Nathan Sowter was earlier the pick of the Invincibles bowling with two for 23, including the key wicket of Kane Williamson (21).
Oval Invincibles’ Jordan Cox hits for six
Jamie Smith had hit 28 at the top of the order with Jamie Overton (31) and Ryan Higgins (28) also weighing in.
The win put the Invincibles, who are bidding for a third successive title, four points clear at the top of their table after their eight regular-season games.
As they also have a huge net run-rate advantage, Trent Rockets and Northern Superchargers will likely have to settle for places in the Eliminator.
“It felt brilliant with the bat, the wicket only got better as the lights came on and Coxy made it easy for me,” Will Jacks said.
“We’ve been looking for that top spot, we know how important it is to get straight to the final and to be able to watch the two teams play the night before. We’ve still got things to improve on… but we’re looking forward to Sunday.”
How do matches work?
One hundred balls a side, the team with the most runs wins. It is as simple as that.Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including five or 10 in a row.The traditional six-ball overs seen in other forms of cricket are not used in The Hundred, with 10 balls bowled before a change of ends.The powerplay is for the first 25 balls of an innings, with only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle.A 25-ball-a-side game is the minimum length that can be played in the event of wet weather.
What’s coming up on Tuesday?
Northern Superchargers welcome Manchester Originals to Headingley with the women’s match under way from 3pm and the men’s getting going at 6.30pm, live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Watch every match across the women’s and men’s competitions in The Hundred live on Sky Sports until August 31.
