England star Cross hails an ‘amazing’ opening night of The Hundred

Manchester Originals captain Kate Cross declared the opening match of The Hundred an “amazing night for women’s cricket” after the tournament got off on a memorable note for all the right reasons at the Kia Oval.

England international Cross ended up on the losing team after a half-century by opposite number Dane van Niekerk guided Oval Invincibles to a thrilling five-wicket victory after they chased down 136 to win with two balls to spare.

Three years after the original idea for this 100- ball tournamentwas unveiled, it finally got underway and even though the first ball was a leg-side wide, the contest turned into a run-fest much to the delight of the 7,395 spectators in attendance.

“I don’t think I can come off a cricket pitch and be more pleased at a loss,” Cross admitted.

“It was the most electric atmosphere and I have never played in front of that before. An amazing night for women’s cricket and almost the perfect night apart from the result!”

When Manchester Originals posted 135 for six from their 100 balls, largely thanks to 42 from South African opener Lizelle Lee, it appeared the visitors would claim a first win of the new competition.

The odds were stacked even more against Invinciblesw hen Cross picked up two wickets in consecutive balls, but home skipper Van Niekerk put on 73 for the fifth wicket with wife MarizanneKa pp before a thick outside edge by the former clinched victory for the Ovalbased team.

It produced another thunderous reaction from a youthful crowd, who had become encapsulated by the chase in the second half of the hosts’ innings.

England bowler Cross admitted :“I said to the girls beforethe biggest thing was enjoy everything, enjoy the occasion and the crowd because we have made history.

“Regardless of the result, we are history-makers so to enjoy it as much as we did, I think that is why we feel like we haven’t lost the game. We were the guinea pigs and I am so glad for the tournament it comes off and we got the night we wanted.

“I felt the atmosphere even when I was in the ring, I couldn’t speak to anyone because it was so loud. I did get to go down to the boundary for a couple of balls, so that was nice, but they went over my head, so it feels like a win, I don’ t feel like we lost that game of cricket, it is a strange feeling.”