The Hundred opener becomes most-watched women's cricket match in the UK: "We couldn’t have asked for a better start"

A total of 1.95 million tuned in across BBC Two and Sky Sports to watch Oval Invincibles beat Manchester Originals

A broadcast is only as good as its game, and the cameras were handed a cracker

The Hundred curtain-raiser showcases all that is good about watching women's sport

The Hundred's opening match between Oval Invincibles and Manchester Originals has become the most-watched women's cricket match on television in the UK.

A total audience of 1.95 million tuned in across BBC Two, Sky Sports Cricket, Main Event and Mix.

England and India's third T20 international last week previously held the record at 1.24m.

Alone, 1.6m watched through BBC television, making it their most-watched women's cricket match ever.

The match was also streamed more than 180,000 times across BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and Sky Sports' YouTube channel.

Coverage across all channels totally more than 3.8m with close to 35 per cent of viewers being female, according to the ECB.

Those figures come after 7,395 attended the game live at The Kia Oval, which the governing body believes is a professional record for a women's domestic game.

Additionally, The Hundred also enjoyed its best day of ticket sales since going on general sale with more than 11,000 purchased for the remaining matches on Wednesday (July 21).

Target audience lap up the gimmicks as The Hundred's opening night hits the right note

The tournament's managing director Sanjay Patel said: "We couldn’t have asked for a better start to The Hundred – a thrilling match which went down to the wire, a brilliant atmosphere inside the crowd with lots of families and children, and record figures watching at home.

"The Hundred is all about throwing cricket’s doors open for everyone, and the response to last night’s game has been remarkable. We know this is only the first game and there is still a lot of hard work ahead. 

"We’re grateful to Sky for their long-term support for English cricket and especially The Hundred and are excited by the partnership with them and the BBC helping us to reach a broader audience."