London Spirit beat Oval Invincibles by eight wickets at Kia Oval; Charlie Dean makes phenomenal catch; 'We've put everything we can into qualifying so fingers crossed,' says Dean; watch every Hundred game live on Sky Sports.
Pictured: London Spirit's Charlie Dean is pictured celebrating taking a wicket in The Hundred Women's match at the Kia Oval in London.
London Spirit beat Oval Invincibles by eight wickets at Kia Oval.
Spirit were tasked with winning this final and were relying on Manchester Originals to defeat the Northern Superchargers on Tuesday to avoid relying on pure run percentage to qualify for the playoffs. However, with a win by this margin, they now have a virtually guaranteed place in the finals.
The Invincibles started the game decisively, if without much flash. Meg Lanning and Paige Scholfield put on 23 in their first innings before Lanning was run out (19 off 20) by Sarah Glenn and Scholfield (6 off 6) was caught off a delivery by Issy Wong to force the home side into action.
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Then Charlie Dean broke through, catching Lanning on a pitch, allowing just three runs in the first ten pitches. Scholfield's 22-off 21 followed soon after, and the Spirit had completely crushed the inning's momentum. At the halfway point, the Invincibles were a modest 56-2.
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Watch London Spirit's Charlie Dean's stunning takedown of Oval Invincibles' Marizanne Kapp.
After six consecutive balls, Alice Capsey (11-9) was struck out, and the Spirit continued to hold off the onslaught. Marizanne Kapp (32-25) was the only batter to break the discipline of the defense before her inning was cut short by a magnificent one-handed catch from Dean. “I was able to time my jump well and hold on to the ball,” she said.
Dean then played the last five innings, finishing with an outstanding 2-12 from 20 deliveries as the Invincibles finished their game on a modest 108-8.
Keira Chatley and Georgia Redmayne, looking to improve their strike rate, opened the innings with verve. Chatley was particularly offensive against her former team, scoring 47 runs without loss (a season high for an opener), of which her own contribution was 35 off 16.
The duo went on to improve on the Spirit’s best opening performance of the season and eventually set the team’s highest wicket-taking partnership, with Chatley scoring a fifty off 26 balls, including an impressive six in a row. Victory soon followed by eight wickets to spare, with 38 deliveries not out. Redmayne took three wickets, scoring a respectable 42 runs off 30 balls, and Chatley completed a superb run by adding a solitary run to reach 53 off 29 deliveries, but the Invincibles’ efforts were too little and too little.
Pictured: London Spirit's Charlie Dean (right) celebrates after edging Meg Lanning at the Oval.
“It was a huge win. We came out on the field wanting to bounce back and win like that, by a wide margin,” Dean said.
“Kira hit a great shot at the top of the order, making the first strike.
We have a rest day and we are hoping for a positive outcome. We have used all our resources to prepare for qualifying, so fingers crossed for us.
How are the matches organized?
- At 100 pitches per inning, the team with the most points wins. It's that simple.
- Five bowlers can bowl up to 20 balls in an innings, including runs of five or ten in a row.
- The traditional six-ball overs of other formats of cricket are absent from The Hundred, with 10-ball overs being bowled before the batsman is changed.
- The opening phase of the attack lasts for the first 25 balls of the inning, when only two fielders are allowed outside the 30-yard circle.
- Minimum game pace: 25 balls per minute if there is a threat of rain.
What's happening on Tuesday?
The Northern Superchargers host Manchester Originals at Headingley. The women's game kicks off at 3pm, the men's at 6.30pm. The match will be shown live on Sky Sports Cricket.
Watch every Women's and Men's The Hundred clash live on Sky Sports until August 31.
Sourse: skysports.com
