Skipper of the Oval Invincibles played a crucial 76-run knock of just 40 deliveries when his team was in a spot of bother
Sam Billings the skipper of the Oval Invincibles in the Hundred guided his team to the final of the tournament on the back of a solid performance with the bat as he scored 76 runs of 40 balls getting his team out of trouble when they were in a spot of bother having lost three wickets for 21. He along with opener Will Jacks added 73 runs for the fourth wicket. Having walked into bat after the fall of the third wicket Sam Billings played his shots right from the word go and transferred the pressure back on Trent Rockets. The batter was severe against both pace and spin as he charged his counterpart Lewis Gregory when he came in to bowl and scored 21 runs off the 15 balls he bowled. Billings continued his attacking approach against spin as well and scored 47 runs off the 27 balls bowled by spinners. He was well supported by Will Jacks who scored 31 runs off 22 balls. Tom Curran who walked in to bat after Jacks was dismissed continued the good work done by the duo and scored 18 off 10 balls ensuring that the Invincibles get over the line.
The Rescue Act
Batting first defending champions got off to a shaky start as both openers Root and Hales were dismissed early in the innings followed by Sam Hain and Tom Kohler-Cadmore as the Trent Rockets were reduced to 54-4 and were in desperate need of a partnership. That’s when the pair of Colin Munro and captain Lewis Gregory added 70 runs for the fifth wicket which took the score to 148 runs at the end of 100 balls. Chasing a target of 149 runs Oval Invincible got off to a decent start as Roy who looked good scored 19 of 13 balls. But his dismissal brought about a mini collapse as the team lost three wickets in three balls.
A Happy Captain
After the win, the captain of the Invincibles Sam Billings said “It has been quite a while since I hit it that well. It has been a long summer so it was nice to see some of the work behind the scenes actually come off. It wasn’t the perfect scenario to come in but it was an opportunity to bat and get myself in and then I just played to my strengths. It was really pleasing to get over the line.”
