Morgan finds form, Roy out first ball before Spirit edge Hundred thriller

Eoin Morgan slammed 47 from 29 balls and Jason Roy’s batting woes continued with a golden duck before London Spirit edged Oval Invincibles by three runs in a Hundred thriller…

Story of the match

Morgan quit as England white-ball captain in late June with his final two innings for the national side successive ducks against the Netherlands in one-day international cricket earlier that month.

But the Spirit skipper rediscovered his form at The Kia Oval, striking three sixes and five fours before being caught in the deep off Reece Topley as his side racked up 171-6 from their 100 balls, an innings in which Zak Crawley fired four fours in an 11-ball 21 up top.

Invincibles opener Roy lasted just one ball, edging Nathan Ellis (3-28 off 20 balls) to short third man as he took his T20I struggles with England – the 32-year-old managing just 76 runs across six innings in that format this summer – into The Hundred, but his side made a tremendous fist of the run chase after initially slipping to 12-4 in 17 balls.

Hilton Cartwright (42 off 23), Jordan Cox (39 off 30), Tom Curran (27 off 15) and Danny Briggs (29no off 11) dragged Invincibles back into the chase with a flurry of boundaries and the home side required just nine from three balls when Briggs began the final set of five with back-to-back fours off Jordan Thompson – but Thompson (2-31 from 20 balls) held his nerve.

Invincibles’ sloppiness with the ball ultimately cost them – they conceded 22 runs from the final 10 deliveries bowled and shipped 14 extras all told as Spirit carded their highest score in the tournament.

Spirit finished bottom of the standings in 2021 with just one win from eight but began this campaign with victory – just – under new head coach Trevor Bayliss, who took over following Shane Warne’s passing earlier this year.

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Hero of the Match, Nathan Ellis (3-28 from 20 balls)

The London Spirit seamer dismissed Roy and Sam Billings (1) in the first 17 balls and returned later on to remove Cartwright…

Ellis said: “A few boys got a bit hot under the collar there at the end but it’s great to get on the way with a win. The atmosphere was obviously great and it was a tight game. I don’t know if I deserved this award, a few guys batted the house down and got us to a great total!

“It is unreal [to work with Morgan]. We have only had a few days in the lead up but he has already made his mark – and he made his mark on me on the field tonight as he is a calming influence and someone I lean on.”

What they said – ‘This was close to international cricket’

London Spirit captain Eoin Morgan: “I love playing in games like that. You get to find out more about how good guys are coping under pressure. Anyone can bowl yorkers or hit sixes when there is no pressure. It felt as close to an international game as I have ever felt in the domestic arena, apart from the IPL in India.”

What’s next?

Friday’s fixture, the third of this year’s tournament, sees Manchester Originals welcome Pennines rivals Northern Superchargers to Emirates Old Trafford, with coverage starting at 6pm on Sky Sports The Hundred and Sky Sports Mix ahead of the first ball at 6.30pm.

Originals’ star players include captain Jos Buttler plus Phil Salt and Matt Parkinson, while Superchargers boast Adil Rashid, Harry Brook, David Willey and veteran West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo among their squad.

London duo Invincibles and Sprit return to action on Sunday and Monday respectively. Invincibles visit Cardiff to take on Welsh Fire on Sunday, with Spirit to then host Originals at Lord’s a day later.

Watch every match from The Hundred this summer live on Sky Sports. The women’s competition starts on Thursday, August 11 with defending champions Oval Invincibles taking on Northern Superchargers at The Kia Oval (6.30pm start).

Tickets for The Hundred are selling fast! If you want to be part of the action, go to thehundred.com/tickets