Former England captain Eoin Morgan has revealed his picks for the winners of the ongoing 2024 The Hundred. The fourth edition of the competition got underway this week.
The first match of the competition took place on Tuesday (23 July) with Oval Invincibles taking on Birmingham Phoenix in both the men’s and women’s tournament. In the men’s match, Oval Invincibles thrashed Birmingham Phoenix by 8 wickets.
Birmingham Phoenix batted first, with 89 runs from 81 deliveries and only three batsmen registering double-digit scores. Opener Rishi Patel was the top scorer for his side, with 25 runs from 24 deliveries, while Jacob Bethell (22) and Benny Howell (24) also made useful contributions.
Apart from them, no player could score more than 4 runs as five players scored exactly 1 while two registered ducks. For Oval Invincibles, Adam Zampa took 3 wickets for 11 runs while Mohammad Amir, Saqib Mahmood and Will Jacks took 2 wickets each.
In reply, the Invincibles chased down the total in 69 deliveries and with 8 wickets in hand. Captain Sam Billings led from the front, scoring an unbeaten 31 while Dawid Malan (24) and Tawanda Muyeye (23) also played crucial knocks.
In the women’s tournament, the Invincibles defeated the Phoenix by 45 runs. Asked to bat first, the Invincibles scored a total of 150 runs for 5 off 100 balls. Paige Scholfield and Alice Capsey shone with the bat by scoring half-centuries; Scholfield scored 71 runs off 40 balls, while Capsey scored 52 off 40.
In reply, the Birmingham team were bowled out for 105 runs in 92 balls. Barring Amy Jones (21), no other Birmingham batsman could reach the 20-run mark, and the Invincibles cruised to an easy win. Amanda-Jade Wellington impressed with the ball, taking 3 wickets for 9 runs.
Eoin Morgan picks his favourites:
With the tournament getting underway this week, Eoin Morgan has picked his favourites to win the 2024 Hundred. Speaking to Sky Sports, the England legend backed Southern Brave to defend the title in the women’s Hundred. In the men’s Hundred, Eoin Morgan snubbed defending champions Oval Invincibles and picked London Spirits as his favourites to win the competition.
“This year, my favourite team for the Women’s Hundred is Southern Brave, the defending champions. The first two years, the title was won by Oval Invincibles. I think they will defend the title once again this year,” said Eoin Morgan.
“In the men’s category, I’m going with the men from Lord’s, the London Spirit. They were in the qualifiers once and got out. So it’s their turn, with the quality of players they have. Players like Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope as a new player and the powerful Jamaican Andre Russell,” he added.
Eoin Morgan picks his 2024 The Hundred winners 🔮 pic.twitter.com/iQiEWA5sWd
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 24, 2024