Sunil Narine starred with bat and ball as Oval Invincibles won a thriller against their rivals London Spirt by three wickets at Lord’s.Narine was at his eccentric batting best to pummel 12 runs in three balls from the final set of five bowled by Nathan Ellis, including a six which just cleared the rope as the visitors scrambled to a target of 132 with one delivery to spare.Earlier, the Trinidadian mystery spinner had produced his customary wizardry with the ball to return 2 for 14, his spin twin Nathan Sowter having blown the game open with 3 for 34.The pair choked a promising start from Spirit for whom Adam Rossington top-scored with 39 including three big sixes, the hosts capitulating from 76 for 2 after 41 balls to 131 all out from the last delivery of their innings.
The rain which washed out the women’s game delayed the start by 25 minutes before Rossington and Dan Lawrence began with a blaze of boundaries, both clearing the ropes, the former pulling a short one from Tom Curran into the second tier of the stand.However, once Sowter and Narine entered the fray it sparked a rapid decline. Legspinner Sowter bowled Lawrence second ball and made it two in three when Michael Pepper reverse-swept straight to Gus Atkinson at backward point.Two further sixes from Essex keeper Rossington briefly threatened to regain the initiative for the hosts, but Sowter snaffled him too courtesy of the first of two great catches from Jordan Cox.Narine, meanwhile, had been suitably frugal and was rewarded for his stump-to-stump bowling as first Daryl Mitchell and then Matt Critchley were trapped lbw. Thereafter, only Matthew Wade’s restrained 37 provided any resistance, with both Currans bowling well at the death.With skies darkening again Jason Roy glanced the first ball of Invincibles’ innings for four, but Dan Worrall got revenge on Roy soon afterwards. And Worrall (2 for 23), now in the groove then produced an unplayable ball to have Heinrich Klaasen caught at slip by Critchley.With the dangerous Will Jacks having been removed by Jordan Thompson (2 for 23) in the meantime, Invincibles were wobbling at 24 for 3.Sam Curran’s response was to launch a counterattack with a flurry of boundaries adding 47 with Cox before the latter departed to a diving catch by Rossington off Nathan Ellis. Curran fell lbw to Critchley for 34, with 39 still needed and Spirit were still in it when Ellis castled Tom Curran.Sam Billings hit a six into the hospitality boxes but holed out to Pepper and when Wade miraculously parried a ball on the boundary back into play turning a six into just two, Spirit looked favourites. But Narine had the final word in a breathless finish.
