Oval Invincibles trounce Manchester Originals in the final: The Men’s Hundred Finals Roundup

Oval Invincibles emerged as the champions of the 2023 edition of the Men’s Hundred competition after beating Manchester Originals by 14 runs in the finals at Lord’s. 

Oval Invincibles topped the group stages of the competition with six wins from eight games. The Manchester Originals, Southern Brave, and Welsh Fire finished the group stages of the tournament with 9 points each. 

Welsh Fire was the only team with a negative run rate as the Originals and the Brave progressed to the Eliminator in the eight-team competition. 

The Originals came out on top after putting 201 runs on the board. The Brave were able to muster only 196 runs from the 100 deliveries they faced in the first innings and missed out on a berth in the finals. 

Tom Curran was the standout performer in the finals helping the Invincibles post 161-5. The Originals fell short by 14 runs in the end as Oval Invincibles clinched their first-ever title. 

Here is a detailed roundup of each playoff match in the 2023 Men’s Hundred Competition courtesy of Parimatch News. 

Eliminator: Manchester Originals defeat Southern Brave by 7 wickets 

The Southern Brave put up their highest-ever total in the 2023 Men’s Hundred Competition by putting up 196 runs on the board. 

Devon Conway and Finn Allen conjured a 122-run partnership for the first wicket – the highest in the 2023 Men’s Hundred Competition. Allen produced a blistering knock of 69 off 38 before it met an untimely end while trying to flick Paul Walter. 

However, an 18-ball boundary drought followed that as the Brave lost a bit of momentum. The Originals struggled to finish their 100 balls within the stipulated amount of time, resulting in the fielding side being forced to play with an extra man inside the circle for the last 11 deliveries. 

James Vince and Devon Conway made the most of it by smashing 61 runs off the final 20 deliveries. Vince and Conway scored 56 and 51 respectively as the Southern Brave put up 196-1 at the end of the innings. 

Many thought that was enough for a Brave win but the Originals proved that it was not the case. The highest run-scorer in this year’s Men’s Hundred – Jos Buttler – rose to the occasion to power his side to a win. 

The night was tough for the bowlers as the ball continued to slip from their hands. Phil Salt made the most of it by smashing three boundaries in the first three deliveries.

Craig Overton wasn’t spared either as he conceded 47 off his 15 balls. Salt’s sojourn came to an end after he found a fielder in the deep off Mitchell Santner’s ball. He had already scored 47 off 17 by then. 

Buttler found a new partner in the form of Max Holden with the duo adding 63 off 33 balls. Holden conceded his wicket to Tymal Mills at 31 but Buttler continued his assault on Rehan Ahmed. 

Ahmed had a chance to run out Buttler at 71 but failed to gather the ball. The Brave would pay the price as Buttler would go on to score 82 off 46. By the time, he got out the Originals required only 17 runs off 12 balls to win. 

Jamie Overton hit Chris Jordan for a maximum over long-off to seal the win with four balls to spare. 

Final: Oval Invincibles defeat Manchester Originals by 14 runs 

The Oval Invincibles lift the 2023 Men’s Hundred trophy

The Oval Invincibles had a horrid start to the match as they were pegged back at 28-4 after the first 30 balls. None of the top four batters were able to score more than 10 runs on the board with Jason Roy and Sam Curran departing for ducks. 

Will Jacks played a run a ball 14 as the Invincibles were down at 34-5. It seemed as if the Originals would have a target of less than 120 to chase but Tom Curran and James Neesham ensured otherwise. 

Neesham unleashed his fury on Zaman Khan and Tom Hartley while Tom Curran knocked five maximums off his first nine deliveries. 

Neesham and Tom’s match-saving knock of 127 off 65 helped the Invincibles put up 161-5. Neesham remained unbeaten at 57 while Tom had 67 runs on the board. 

Fittingly, it was Tom Curran who got the first wicket of the Originals as he got the wicket of Phil Salt who was looking dangerous at 25 off 16. 

Buttler departed 10 balls later after scoring only 11 off 15 deliveries. Wayne Madsen and Laurie Evans departed in single digits as Max Holden searched for a partner at the other end. 

Paul Walter did rotate the strike for Holden to hit some boundaries. However, the required run rate kept on climbing and the Originals found themselves chasing 48 runs off the last six balls. Jamie Overton scored 28 off 19 and Tom Hartley put up 16 off 8. Both of them stayed unbeaten but the target was a bit much to achieve in the end. 

Will Jacks was the highlight of the bowler as he took two wickets and conceded only 11 runs off his 15 balls. Apart from Gus Atkinson, who conceded 47 off his 20 balls without a single wicket, each one of the Invincibles bowlers had their wickets column filled. 

Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Nathan Sowter, and Danny Briggs had a wicket each to their name as the Originals finished with a score of 147-6. 

The Originals lost in the playoffs last season and the story remained the same this time as well. The Invincibles clinched their maiden Hundred title after missing out on the playoffs for the last two years.