The Hundred 2024: Oval Invincibles sweep London Spirit aside in London derby

Adam Zampa was the chief destroyer with the ball as he took four wickets before Jordan Cox smashed an unbeaten 61 in the chase

Kia Oval: London Spirit 96, Oval Invincibles 100-1 - Invincibles Men won by nine wickets

Oval Invincibles secured passage to the knock-out rounds of The Hundred after a Jordan Cox fifty took them to a straight-forward victory over London Spirit at The Kia Oval.

Cox rounded off a good week after being selected for the England Men's Test team by finishing things off with a six to end up 61 not out from just 30 balls, and to take his team to a nine-wicket victory.

The result was all but settled by the half-way mark, the already-eliminated Spirit able only to post 96 from the first innings.

Michael Pepper started well for the visitors, attacking the powerplay for an 18-ball 27, but when he fell – bowled by Adam Zampa – the die was cast.

Twenty-one balls later Spirit were 52 for 5, with Ollie Pope, Shimron Hetmyer and Andre Russell back in the hutch. They never recovered, with Zampa continuing his fine tournament with 4 for 17.

Jordan Cox and Dawid Malan combined for a partnership of 85 (ECB/Getty)

Ollie Stone – like Cox, in England Men's squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka – ran in hard as Spirit sought to defend 96 but it was a case of when and not if for Invincibles, and Cox ended it with 37 balls to spare.

The win means Sam Billings’ side - who’ve won six of their seven games - are guaranteed a place in the top three of the men's competition, with their final game against Trent Rockets deciding whether they'll head straight to The Hundred Final on Sunday August 18 or if they'll need to progress through The Hundred Eliminator the day before.

Meerkat Match Hero Adam Zampa said: "I'm pleased with that performance. They put us under the pump in the powerplay early but yet again there was a bit of purchase in the surface and the boys dragged it back really well through the middle.

"We've been playing really good cricket throughout. Today we knew how important it was to get the win. Finishing first and hopefully going straight through to Lord's, we've potentially made it really tough for anyone to overtake us from here. It’s really important next game that we make that a certainty."

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