Dane van Niekerk proves Invincible as the Hundred is launched with a thriller
Kate Cross stars with three wickets for Originals, but victory is sealed with two balls to spare
Kate Cross stars with three wickets for Originals, but victory is sealed with two balls to spare
Scorer: Venkat Raghav | Commentator: Andrew Miller
9.20pm Right, that will probably do for tonight. We've got another month of this! From Miller, Matt, Venkat and the rest of the ESPNcricinfo team, good night and see you tomorrow for the men's opener. They've suddenly had a tough act to follow.
Kate Cross: "What a fun night, we couldn't have asked for a better opening game, we're making history tonight and the result was almost irrelevant. When Kappy and Dane got together, they are paid the big bucks to come and win games at a packed Oval. Pleased for them on their home soil. Sunday's match at home, hopefully we can recreate this. If we took our catches we could have come out on top. I've never played in front of a crowd like that anywhere, I hope it does inspire someone to pick up a cricket bat."
9.13pm The Oval players are going a lap of honour... and why not. Mention of a record crowd for a women's domestic competition too (we'll gloss over the fact that most of the tickets were give-aways, hopefully a fair few will be back under their own steam!)
Samuel: "That... wasn't awful?"
Silver Billy: "I think it's time to admit it, this is going to be good isn't it?"
Yes, that sort of sentiment ... I can only imagine the sighs of relief in the ECB towers right now...
MaLo: "How can that be stumped out? Threlkeld Collected the ball well before the ball crossed the stumps!!" Indeed... some queries flying around about that key moment... decent take but yes... tricky one to explain to a new audience though... and the ECB thought DLS would be the complex one!
The Kazoo Hero of the Match is Dane van Niekerk. "Crowd was amazing, team was brilliant, I felt the atmosphere, the fans pushed us over the line, one of the top moments in my career. I panicked a little bit, I felt we were behind the eight-ball, Kappy and I kept each other calm, and Mady is a superstar in the making. It wasn't the easiest wicket to bat on, but you got good value for your runs."
9.05pm Arms aloft, a triumphant debut from the skipper Dane van Niekerk, an outstanding cameo from Mady Villiers, and the Oval Invincibles take first blood in a thriller! Kate Cross was magnificent in her own right... three early wickets to rock the home side, and important runs too. But undone in the final analysis by her opposite number
Sabbir Apon: "If you drop four fairly easy catches, you don't deserve to win." Harsh, but also fair... they played their part and held onto some good ones too, but it wasn't the Originals' night
Stuart : "In which case, I wholeheartedly apologise for saying you cut me off in my prime. I'm quite ashamed of myself for thinking that. By the way, my wife wandered in whilst I was listening to Swith Hit last night and asked why Atomic Kitten were so special to cricket fans. I pointed her in the direction of your article." Becky Hill will hopefully get a better reception than Atomic Kitten did... It's been a lively night at The Oval, and the night is yet young!
Dezz: "This would be the highest chase in Hundred history if they pull it off..." Amazing scenes!
MikeB: "Super errrrrr five, anyone?" Not until the knock-outs alas!
Dane van Niekerk, meanwhile, was thrilled by "the biggest crowd that I've played in front of at The Oval"
A county regular made it to The Oval for the opening night of the Hundred. Would it end up as an "I Was There" moment?
An early analysis of how the playing conditions of the new tournament could evolve
Kate Cross stars with three wickets for Originals, but victory is sealed with two balls to spare
Manchester Originals captain proud to lead her side out on historic occasion at the Kia Oval