Cricket: The Hundred gets underway with big wins for Invincibles

England’s flagship white-ball cricket tournament has begun, with the Oval Invincibles picking up two dominant wins on Tuesday in the Hundred’s opening matches.

The league, which features men’s and women’s teams competing in a 100-ball format, began with the Invincibles women picking up a 45-run victory over the Birmingham Phoenix.

Adam Zampa then starred for the men’s team, with the Australian spinner bagging three wickets for just 11 runs to restrict Birmingham to 89.

His side then chased the total down impressively, scoring 93/2 from 69 balls.

Home players star in big Invincibles win

Besides Zampa with the ball, it was a trio of English players who led the Invincibles to victory.

Dawid Malan anchored the innings with 24 from 22, while Tawanda Muyeye blasted 23 from 14 at the other end.

When Muyeye departed at the hands of Tim Southee — who took both of Birmingham’s wickets — captain Sam Billings joined Malan for a winning partnership.

Billings went on to make the highest score in the match, plundering an unbeaten 31 from 28 balls.

Following the win, the Invincibles’ outright odds have shortened to +300 with top cricket bookmakers.

The 2023 champions sit well ahead of the two other past winners of the tournament, with the Trent Rockets and Southern Brave sharing the second line of betting at +600.

Birmingham’s odds, meanwhile, are reasonably long, with the side paying +700 to win the Hundred this year.

Questions raised about one-match contracts

While the opening match of the Hundred was a sell-out, with over 20,000 fans in attendance at the Kennington Oval in London, the competition has some unique challenges.

Chief among these is the fact that teams allow players to compete for just one game, with several overseas stars called in on single-match contracts.

One of these was on display on Tuesday, with Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir appearing for the Invincibles. The fast bowler’s tenure with the club lasted barely half an hour, as he will take no further part in the Hundred.

Several other foreigners — Josh Little, Chris Green and Daniel Hughes — are due to appear on similar contracts.

With leagues like the IPL building overseas popularity due to other countries’ stars playing, the in-and-out nature of the Hundred’s recruitment is questionable.

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