Oval Invincibles win their first men's Hundred title as Jimmy Neesham and Tom Curran rescue their side from 5-34
Match Report:
ScorecardBig Bash draft hopefuls impress in Hundred finals
Big Bash draft hopefuls Tom Curran and Jimmy Neesham have helped Oval Invincibles stage a remarkable fightback to claim the men's Hundred title in 2023.
The pair came together with the Invincibles struggling at 5-34 after being sent in Lord's, combining for an unbeaten 127-run partnership from 64 balls to set Manchester Originals 162 to win.
Curran then put in a splendid performance with the ball, conceding just 6.25 runs per over from his four five-ball sets as the Invincibles held off a late scare from Jamie Overton (28no) and Tom Hartley (16no) to win by 14 runs to secure their first Hundred title.
In the earlier women's final, NSW allrounder Maitlan Brown is a Hundred champion after her Southern Brave side downed Phoebe Litchfield and Georgia Wareham's Northern Superchargers by 34 runs.
Brown finished two not out as England star Danni Wyatt hit 59 from 38 balls to help the Brave to 6-139 batting first before Lauren Bell and Kalea Moore took three wickets each to bundle out the Superchargers for 105.
Litchfield (13) was Bell's second victim while Wareham contributed eight before falling to Chloe Tryon, with Brown not required to bowl.
It ends a strong campaign for Litchfield with the Aussie left-hander finishing third on the tournament run-scorers list with 279 at 34.87 as Wareham finished as the equal second-highest wicket-taker with 11.
The men's final began in similar fashion to how the women's finished as Originals quicks Richard Gleeson, Josh Little and Paul Walter ripped through the Invincibles top order.
But Neesham (57no from 33) and Curran (67no from 34) turned the match on its head, with Curran blasting five sixes and Neesham seven fours to lift their side to 5-161 from their 100 balls.
New Zealander Neesham and Englishman Curran are both among the top prospects for this Sunday's KFC BBL|13 Draft with their performances serving as a timely reminder for clubs looking to strengthen their list with an allrounder.
Wyatt, who impressed during the recent multi-format Ashes with 271 runs across the seven matches, is also among the top prospects for the inaugural Weber WBBL Draft on Sunday.