Oval Invincibles (OVI) and Welsh Fire (WEF) will lock horns at The Oval in match 16 of the Hundred. Sam Billings-led Oval Invincibles suffered a narrow loss to Northern Superchargers in their last game. Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow-less Welsh Fire suffered a seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Manchester Originals on Saturday. A win will take them to the top of the points table.
Team News
After the middle-order collapse against Northern Superchargers, Oval Invincibles are likely to bring a fresh face in the batting unit. Either Jordan Cox or experienced Alex Blake could make their Hundred debut. Opening batsman Will Jacks, who has scored a 65 against Somerset at Oval in the Vitality Blast 2021, is likely to retain his place in the playing eleven, while they might leave out either Laurie Evans or Jordan Clark.
Tom Moody, the Oval Invincibles head coach, will be happy with the performance of his bowlers. Saqib Mahmood and Sunil Narine provided crucial breakthroughs in the last game, while Tom Curran, who struggled in his final set of five, struck early against Northern Superchargers. With plenty of T20 experience under his belt, Tabraiz Shamsi will play a decisive role in the Oval Invincibles squad.
Welsh Fire could miss out on the services of Jake Ball, who left the field with an injury after bowling two sets of five against Manchester Original. In the likely absence of the pace bowler, Liam Plunkett, who played Welsh Fire’s opening fixture, could replace him in the playing eleven. After going wicketless in the last two matches, Qais Ahmad will be hoping to take a leaf out of Adil Rashid’s performance against Oval Invincibles. The England international ripped apart the home side’s middle-order on Saturday.
Josh Cobb is likely to open the batting with Tom Banton for a second successive match despite adding 12 runs for the opening wicket in the last game. Ben Duckett, who bats at No. 3, hasn’t put a foot wrong in the tournament so far. Wicketkeeper-batsman Glenn Phillips will be keen to register a big score. Meanwhile, the inclusion of Leus du Plooy, who top-scored with 43 against Manchester Originals, has increased the depth of the batting unit.
Top Five Fantasy Points scorers (previous match)
OVI: T Curran (72 pts), J Roy (72 pts), S Narine (63 pts), S Mahmood (58 pts), L Evans (20)
WEF: L du Plooy (63 pts), M J Critchley (62 pts), B Duckett (48 pts), R Higgins (34 pts), J Neesham (32 pts)
The Hundred Stats
Most Runs: OVI – J Roy (72 runs); WEF – B Duckett (126 runs)
Most Wickets: OVI – T Curran, S Narine, N Sowter, S Mahmood (2 wickets); WEF – J Neesham, Q Ahmad (4 wickets)
Most Sixes: OVI – J Roy, S Narine (3 sixes); WEF – L du Plooy (4 sixes)
Most Fours: OVI – T Curran, J Roy (6 fours); WEF – B Duckett (17 fours)
Most Catches: OVI – C Ingram (3 catches); WEF – J Cobb, I Cockbain, T Banton (2 catches)
Squads
OVI (likely): T Banton, J Cobb, B Duckett, G Phillips, L du Plooy, M Critchley, J Neesham, R Higgins, Q Ahmad, J Ball/ L Plunkett, D Payne
WEF (likely): J Roy, W Jacks, S Narine, C Ingram, S Billings, J Cox/A Blake, J Clark, T Curran, T Shamsi, R Topley, S Mahmood
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Parameswaran Sankaranarayanan
Parameswaran Sankaranarayan is a sports enthusiast who has worked in print, website, and other digital platforms. He was part of the editorial team of first-ever Indian football-based website - IndianFootball.com (now defunct) - and passionately follows the latest happenings in world football. During his time as a journalist, he had the opportunity to interact with some of the iconic personalities in Indian sports and witness some memorable moments in Indian football.
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