The Hundred has witnessed some scintillating, spectacular cricket over the brief years of its existence. This season we might have been a little short of big scores and really close finishes, but we have still seen some big hitting and no end of incredible catches. And we also saw one of the most unbelievable finishes to a game in short-form history when the Superchargers’ Graham Clark downed the Southern Brave with a six off the last ball when five were needed for the win.
But even that lusty heave from the bowling of Tymal Mills was not quite as sensational as the finish that the Oval Invincibles produced at the Oval on the 21st of August. We witnessed the most productive five balls in the history of the competition and an incredible fightback from the aptly named Invincibles. Their unlikely win over fellow knockout contenders, Trent Rockets, has all-but guaranteed them a place in the top three, though few would bet against them now finishing top of the pile.
Invincible by Name, Unbeatable by Nature
Sixes everywhere! 6️⃣
Oval Invincibles smash their way to a memorable victory 💥#TheHundred | #RoadToTheEliminator pic.twitter.com/6TggVtSQik
— The Hundred (@thehundred) August 21, 2025
The Oval-based side took a little while to get going in this competition, in the men’s format. The women won the first two tournaments, in 2021 and 2022, but the men struggled somewhat. However, they have picked up the mantle now, triumphing in both 2023 and 2024 and looking on course to have a really good go at making it a hat-trick of victories this year.
They headed into Thursday night’s home game against the Rockets level at the top on 16 points with their opponents and also the Northern Superchargers. They led the way by virtue of net run rate, while they had also played a game fewer than the other two co-leaders.
The regular season title now looks theirs for the taking after an unlikely win that showed this is a team that does not know when they are beaten. The top of the table following that win shows what a commanding position they are in with just two games left for most sides. It would take a remarkable set of results and a huge shift in net run rate for them to fall out of the all-important top three.
| Position | Team | Played | Points | Net Run Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Invincibles | 6 | 20 | 2.158 |
| 2 | Rockets | 6 | 16 | 0.483 |
| 3 | Superchargers | 6 | 16 | 0.181 |
| 4 | Southern Brave | 6 | 12 | 0.066 |
| 5 | Birmingham Phoenix | 5 | 8 | -0.425 |
From Down and Out to Easy Win
Trent Rockets lost the toss and were put into bat for this top of the table clash at the Oval. Skipper Sam Billings may have regretted that a little when England ace Joe Root leapt out of the blocks. He and fellow opener Tom Banton raced to 55 from 27 balls before Banton was dismissed for nine. That shows just how well Root was playing, though in fairness Banton did face just 11 balls.
England’s greatest ever batsman kept going and his brilliant 76 from just 41 balls – a strike rate of 185.37 – put his team in a great position. A big away win and a jump to the top of the table seemed on the cards, especially when George Linde plundered 25 from just eight balls at the end of the innings to help propel his side to 171/7.
As is often the case, Rashid Khan was the clear pick of the bowling, the Afghan spinner conceding a mere 19 runs from his 20 balls. He took two wickets as well, accounting for the openers, while both Curran brothers, Tom and Sam, came in for some stick, conceding 37 and 41 respectively from their 20. Saqib Mahmood was the most expensive bowler though, Root punishing him early on, and he conceded 25 from just 10 deliveries.
Openers Struggled
The Oval Invincibles are too good a team to worry about chasing down such a score but their openers struggled. They slumped to 38/2 from 34 balls, Will Jacks in particular struggling with just nine off 15 balls. At that stage Jordan Cox and Sam Curran were at the crease as their team needed 134 runs to win from the remaining 66 deliveries. They didn’t panic though, taking a little time to play themselves in. Even so, most fans, pundits and quite possibly the batters themselves must have thought they had left themselves too much to do when they reached 70/2 from 60 balls.
At that stage they required 102 from the final 40 balls, over 2.5 runs per ball, or more than 15 runs per traditional over. At that point, suggesting they would coast to an easy win with 11 balls to spare would have been madness, but that is what happened.
The Crowd Goes Wild
From that point on the home crowd were treated to pure pyrotechnics and one of the most ferocious displays of hitting The Hundred has ever seen. They smashed 51 runs from the next 10 balls alone, taking them to a far handier position of 121/2 from 70 balls, with another 51 needed but 30 balls to get them. In the space of two “sets”, the game had turned on its head, sending the crowd into raptures. First the Invincibles duo took Rockets skipper David Willey for 19. But then the mayhem really began!
Sam Cook was the bowler on the receiving end of the worst of it and he saw five balls yield a massive 32 runs, the worst five-ball set in the history of the competition. That included a wide that went to the boundary, another wide ball, a six, then a four, then another six … from a no ball! The free hit was also sent over the ropes and despite ending his set well, Cook’s five balls had seen the game swing well and truly the way of the hosts.
Curran was eventually dismissed, for 54 from 24 balls, while Cox remained unbeaten at the end on 58 from 32. Donovan Ferreira helped himself to 14 from five balls, with two maximums, and the Invincibles made chasing 172 look a doddle, getting there with 11 balls and six wickets in hand.
What Now?
It is hard to back against the Invincibles topping the standings after the league phase and we expect the Rockets and the Superchargers to be the two that will meet in the Eliminator, at the Oval, ahead of the final at Lord’s.
That is not guaranteed though. Before that, on the 23rd of August there is a big game at Headingley, as the Superchargers host the two-time defending champions. A day later the Rockets travel to Wales to play Welsh Fire, before we see the London derby again, plus Superchargers v Manchester Originals for a second time. Concluding the “rivalry” games, as far as the top three are concerned, we have Trent v Birmingham on the 27th, the penultimate game of the league phase.