The Cricketer looks at the main talking points from the men's Hundred clash between Oval Invincibles and Northern Superchargers at the Kia Oval
It was a day of outstanding catching in The Hundred - Amanda Jade-Wellington grabbed the attention in the women's afternoon fixture - and that continued when the men's match got underway in the early evening.
Mitchell Santner struck a blow to the Invincibles' chase by bowling Sam Billings (2) as the skipper got trapped in his crease.
But it was seven balls later when the New Zealander (an injury replacement for Daniel Sams of course) delivered a moment of majesty.
Sam Curran took on Matthew Short down the ground, with the ball destined for the boundary. Santner had other ideas, however, running across and diving full length to pull off a wonderful catch.
The crowd, not completely partisan towards the home side, were stunned to silence and took several seconds to register that the catch had actually been completed.
When Dawid Malan succumbed to Adil Rashid for a third wicket in the space of 10 balls, Superchargers knew victory was within their grasp.
Mitchell Santner takes the plaudits after completing a fine catch to remove Sam Curran (ECB/Getty Images)
With Donovan Ferreira running hot and Invincibles suddenly looking like chasing 146, the strategic timeout with 10 deliveries remaining suddenly looked like a necessary moment for the Superchargers.
Following a conversation between head coach Andrew Flintoff and captain Harry Brook the ball was thrown to Matthew Potts to lay the platform for victory.
His first delivery, a full and wide ball, was belted through cover by Ferreira.
But Potts was unperturbed, and continued with the tactic, and it paid off. Ferreira went hard one too many times and he picked out substitute fielder Tom Lawes.
The thousands who exited the Kia Oval upon the catch being taken, with eight balls still to be bowled, told you everything about the importance of the moment.
Invincibles men have only lost twice on home turf in the first three editions of The Hundred - both coming in 2022 during their weakest campaign thus far. On the way to the 2023 title they lost just once: a 41-run reverse at Edgbaston against Birmingham Phoenix.
So achieving victory over the south Londoners should be considered a notable achievement, not least given that the core of that title-winning side - captain Sam Billings, the Curran brothers, Will Jacks, Jordan Cox, Nathan Sowter and Spencer Johnson - remains largely intact.
And there seems to be something stirring at Northern Superchargers men. They've already matched last season's tally of two wins and while they'll need a few more to reach the playoffs, this is the strongest group yet.
Inevitably, Potts paid tribute to the culture developed by Flintoff in his first senior head coach role, in amongst a squad which has endured several high-profile changes since it was first compiled back in March.
And with Ben Stokes to (potentially) come into the fray at some stage, perhaps this is the year of the Superchargers?
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