Saqib Mahmood and Mohammad Amir took two wickets apiece, a welcome return to action from injury for England’s Saqib Mahmood who last played a game in the Hundred almost three years ago, in 2021.
Defending champions Oval Invincibles romped to victory under the lights at The Kia Oval as the fourth year of The Hundred got underway with two wins out of two for the men’s and women’s South London team. The Invincibles pace duo of Saqib Mahmood and Mohammad Amir ripped the heart out of Birmingham Phoenix’s first-innings effort.
Pitch and Toss
The surface at the Kennington Oval in London has a balanced nature, with quite a bit of edge for the batters, mostly in the first innings of the game. Speaking of the 17 T20Is played here, the team batting first has won on 9 occasions while the team batting second has won 7 matches. So, the captain winning the toss will look ahead to bat first to trouble the opponent with a tough run chase.
Moeen Ali the Birmingham Phoenix skipper won the toss and chose to bat with Abbott, Southee and Adam Milne as their overseas players. Sam Billings the Oval Invincibles skipper bowling first had Amir, Zampa and Ferreira as their overseas players.
Oval Invincibles land statement win as Adam Zampa, Saqib Mahmood, Amir thrive as Phoenix managed only 89 runs in their innings.
The Invincibles pace duo of Saqib Mahmood and Mohammad Amir ripped the heart out of Birmingham Phoenix’s first-innings effort, after captain Moeen Ali won the toss and decided to bat, reducing them to 10 for 4 after just 17 balls. Amir and Saqib Mahmood took two wickets apiece, a welcome return to action from injury for England’s Saqib Mahmood who last played a game in the Hundred almost three years ago, in 2021.

After Amanda-Jade Wellington took 3 for 9 for Oval Invincibles women’s team in the day’s first game, another Australian leg-spinner in the shape of Adam Zampa replicated her success, skidding his way to figures of 3 for 11. The stylish Jacob Bethell and buccaneering Benny Howell did their best to repair the top-order damage for Phoenix, but their eventual total of 89 would have been under-par on any surface and never looked enough.

The victory was set up by the bowlers for the defending champions. First up it was the duo of Mohammad Amir and Saqib Mahmood who picked two apiece to reduce Phoenix to 10/4 in 17 balls. Thereafter, they were plunged into further misery as Adam Zampa ripped through the lower order with a three-wicket haul. Phoenix managed only a paltry 89.
Billings, Malan seal emphatic eight-wicket win over Birmingham Phoenix at The Oval
In reply, Invincibles were unfussed and unhurried – waltzing their way to an eight-wicket win with 31 balls left. Captain Sam Billings added some late hitting, after Tawanda Muyeye had given the crowd of 23,621 a glimpse of his talent with a 14-ball 23, to make it the perfect start for both Oval Invincibles teams.

The chase went on a straightforward note as the Invincibles chased down the target with 31 balls to spare and barely any hiccups despite Tim Southee striking twice. The Oval Invincibles managed to replicate their counterparts in the women’s game as they kickstarted the 2024 edition of The Hundred with a comfortable win over Birmingham Phoenix.

Presentation and Road Ahead
Adam Zampa The Player of the Match for his 3 wickets said : “It was nice to start that way, especially at home, and it was good for us to continue our success from last year. It’s a good feeling and it’s nice to be in the winner’s circle straight away.
“It wasn’t much of a spinning wicket, to be honest. I enjoy bowling here, I think it skids on a bit and if you get that right it can be hard to hit. I tried to attack the stumps as much as possible today and it worked.
“We’ve had a bit of a chat about what we did well last year and what works here [The Kia Oval]. In particular, starting well here was really important so we talked about the lengths you have to bowl here and how to do well on this ground. A lot of our guys have good experience of playing here so we’ve had a bit of talk about that.
“It’s a really enjoyable competition, I love playing in The Hundred. You feel like it’s a really alien concept but once you’re playing in it, it’s Twenty20 cricket with a couple of tactical changes – and really good tactical changes that I enjoy being a part of: 65-minute innings, that’s the sweet-spot, I love it.”
Oval Invincibles didn’t lose too much of sweat to chase that down. Jacks fell early. Muyeye entertained. Then Malan and Billings took over to do the job. There was some movement in the second innings. But wasn’t enough runs from Birmingham. They only put on a meagre 89 on the board and that never was going to suffice. Amir, Saqib Mahmood and Zampa just set it up for the defending champions.
The Hundred is here and we are just done with the first game. Oval ensured it was a mismatch courtesy their great usage of the conditions. The ball zipped around and Oval decimated the batting line of their opponents. Birmingham fell well short today. But it is just the start. They will have a chance to comeback.