Oval Invincibles win back-to-back men’s trophies as London Spirit win a dramatic women’s final

Oval Invincibles became back-to-back champions of the men’s Hundred competition with a resounding 17-run victory over Southern Brave at Lord’s.

With Brave set a target of 148 for victory, the game was in the balance before three wickets in six balls from Saqib Mahmood ripped the stuffing out of their run-chase and saw Invincibles become the first side to register four trophies across the men’s and women’s competitions.

Mahmood removed Leus Du Plooy, Kieron Pollard and Laurie Evans between the 72nd and 78th balls and when Chris Jordan followed them back into the pavilion four balls later, the game was settled as a contest.

The England seamer’s timely and vital burst added to a number of individual performances from Invincibles that combined to form a winning team effort.

Their total of 147 for nine, thanks to cameos from Will Jacks, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran and Tom Curran, proved to enough to successfully defend their crown from 12 months ago.

London have winning spirit

London Spirit successfully chased down 115 to beat Welsh Fire and claim the women’s Hundred title in front of a record 22,008 fans at Lord’s.

In a tense finale, it was left to Deepti Sharma and Charlie Dean to get their team over the line, with Indian all-rounder Sharma finishing the job with a six over long on with just two balls left.

Sharma’s strike hung in the air and briefly looked to be heading to Shabnim Ismail on the boundary, but there was enough power to go all the way and bring an end to a topsy-turvy encounter that swung both ways.

As a result, head coach Ashley Noffke and campaign Heather Knight celebrated London Spirit’s first trophy in The Hundred.

Meerkat Match Hero Redmayne said: “A long time between boundaries, Ismail bowled great and took key wickets.

“I don’t think you ever feel in control in a final, but so proud in front of a record crowd at Lord’s.”

Welsh Fire captain Tammy Beaumont said: “I’m so proud of the girls to fight like they did. At the time-out, it was there to lose. Gutted, we’d have loved to win.

“We’ve got in some good people, Gareth (Breese) and I had a vision to make it more than just a franchise that you turn up to.

“We were 10 light with the bat, but credit to Spirit, they kept taking wickets through the middle.”