by Rex Clementine
The Hundred ended on Sunday giving English cricket authorities to think about a few things. The topmost of them would be whether the pitches that were used for this season are conducive enough for high scoring games that fans turn up to watch. It looked as if the curators had left too much grass on pitches resulting in not too many high scoring games. But that didn’t stop over 26,000 fans attending Lord’s to witness the men’s final.
Oval Invincibles completed a convincing 17 run rout of Southern Brave. They have now not only won back to back titles but given ECB a few things to ponder.
Sam Curran was named Player of the Series. Yes, he did end up with 17 wickets, third most in the competition but he also hit 17 sixes in the tournament and only Nicholas Pooran had hit more sixes. Curran batted high in the order – at number three in the final - and it begs the question whether England have been clever in using his batting skills. Usually he turns up for England in T-20 cricket lower down the order.
The other important point is England have been searching for a coach for their white ball team and Tom Moody wouldn’t be a bad bet having won back to back The Hundred titles. Moody is not the type to apply for a job for in over 20 years of coaching he has achieved some tremendous success and developed many players and built several teams. His greatest asset is that Moody is a good communicator and with clever plans with each of his players he is able to bring the best out of everyone.
Saqib Mahmood was Man of the Match reverse swinging the ball at high pace to deadly effect. It has been a tough few years for Mahmod with back injuries slowing down his career but hopefully this performance enables him to step to the next level.
The women’s final, was a thriller with London Spirit securing a four wicket win with two balls to spare. It’s been bit of an inconsistent effort by the London Spirit in this year’s competition but they peaked at the right time. They were the last team to qualify for the playoffs and overcame Oval invincible in the eliminator before beating Welsh Fire in the final.
Jess Jonassen with a half-century enabled Welsh Fire to post 115 in the final, but a collective effort by London Spirit Women enabled them to clinch the title. It was London Spirit’s first title.
