The Hundred, Match 1 Preview | London Spirit and Oval Invincibles set to battle at iconic Lord's cricket ground

‌The fifth season of The Hundred Men's Competiton is set to begin with a London Derby game between London Spirit and Oval Invincibles at the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground on Tuesday. It will be a star-studded contest with some renowned faces in international cricket locking horns against each other in a mouth-watering clash. The likes of Kane Williamson and David Warner will represent Spirit, while the Curran Brothers, Sam and Tom, and Afghanistan's legendary leg spinner Rashid Khan will represent the Invincibles.

The Hundred, during its four-year tenure, has tried to push the limits of T20 cricket making it more creative, out-of-the-box and entertaining. The name of the competition depicts the tenure of the game, hundred balls per innings with 20 overs or sets of five balls each. The first 25 balls of each innings will be the powerplay with change of ends happening after every two sets. A bowler can bowl a total of 20 balls in the game and the captain has an option to continue with the same bowler for five or 10 balls. 

Though the two sides represent one of the most iconic grounds in the UK, their performances in the tournament have been quite contrasting. Despite being one of the popular teams in the tournament, Spirit have not been very successful in the last four seasons. They have only made it to the playoffs once during the 2022 season so far and are still searching for their maiden title. The last season was horrible for the team as they finished at the bottom of the table with one win and seven losses in the eight games they played.

However, the same cannot be said about Oval Invincibles, who are the most successful franchise in the tournament and will go into the league as the defending champions. Though they struggled a bit, missing out on the playoffs in the first two years of the tournament in 2021 and 2022, they came back stronger in the last two seasons with back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024.

Form Guide

The London Spirit’s recent form in T20s has been abysmal with a five-game losing streak in the format. The last game they won was against the Welsh Fire on August 1, 2024.

The Oval invincibles, on the other hand, have been giving solid performances in the last five games they have played, winning four and losing just once. 

London Spirit:  L L L L L

Oval Invincibles:  W L W W W

London Spirit vs Oval Invincibles Head-to-Head in T20s

The Oval Invincibles have dominated the London Spirit in the tournament, winning six of the eight games the two teams have featured in, with one game ending in a no result

LS 1 - 6 OI

Pitch and Weather

The surface at Lord's has been known to be a balanced wicket, which assists both batters and bowlers equally. While there is some seam movement for the bowlers at the start, the pitch seems to flatten as the game progresses. Batting first has been the norm in T20s played at this venue, with 66 of the games won by the team defending a total, while the team chasing has won only 37 times in the 108 games.

The weather at the Lord's Cricket Ground is expected to be clear throughout the game, with the temperature most likely to be between 19 and 21 degrees celsius.

Team News

The London Spirit will be led by former New Zealand skipper and legendary batter Kane Williamson. The home team is likely to feature powerful Australian players like David Warner and Ashton Turner, along with some local England talents in Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton, and Liam Dawson in their playing squad.

Former England wicketkeeper Sam Billings will be leading the Oval Invincibles for the fifth consecutive season. The Curran brothers and Will Jacks would be the likely picks for their all-round and match-winning abilities. The top overseas stars who are most likely to feature in the game are Rashid Khan and Donovan Ferreira.

London Spirit Probable XI: David Warner, Keaton Jennings, Jamie Smith (wk), Kane Williamson (c), Ollie Pope, Ashton Turner, Wayne Madsen, Jamie Overton, Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Luke Wood.

Oval Invincibles Probable XI: Jordan Clark, Jordan Cox, Will Jacks, Sam Curran, Sam Billings (c)(wk), Donovan Ferreira, Miles Hammond, Tom Curran, Rashid Khan, Gus Atkinson, Saqib Mahmood. 

Broadcasting Platforms

The Hundred Men's opening game between the London Spirit and Oval Invincibles will be digitally streamed in India on the Sony Liv and FanCode apps and websites, with live telecast of the same in Sony Sports Network from 11 PM IST.