OI vs WF, Review | Cox and Curran impress in record-breaking win as Invincibles maintain winning streak against Fire

08/17/2025

Oval Invincibles gave Welsh Fire an 83-run thrashing in the Hundred Men’s on Saturday. The defending champions break records with the highest total and their largest margin of victory in the tournament, with Jordan Cox and Tom Curran being the top performers of the day.

‌Welsh Fire won the toss and chose to field first, hoping to make use of the early seaming conditions with the new ball. Unfortunately, nothing went according to their plans as the Invincibles' opening duo of Will Jacks and Twanda Muyeye got off to a flyer. With 54 runs coming off the first 25 balls, the Fire bowlers were under pressure. Both batters continued to wreak havoc until Saif Zaib came into the attack and broke the 76-run stand, with Muyeye smashing the long hop straight into the hands of David Payne at deep square leg. Jacks was the next man to go after mistiming a pull shot to Chris Green at Mid-wicket. Though these early wickets did put the Invincibles in a bit of trouble, they were still in a strong position at the halfway stage with the score reading 89/2. The two wickets might have given the bowlers a bit of a chance, but Jordan Cox and Sam Curran had other plans as they decided to take the innings forward and made sure the run-flow was not affected. Invincibles were still in control of the game, with 62 runs coming off the next 25 deliveries of the game, taking the score to 151/2 after 75 balls. Both Cox and Curran continued their dominance until Chris Green finally ended the 97-run stand as the English all-rounder was caught by Steven Smith at long-on after an incredible knock of 34 off 19 deliveries. However, this did not stop the wrath of the defending champions as Donnovan Ferreira continued the onslaught with an explosive cameo to support Cox at the other end. The defending champions scored a total of 75 runs in the last 25 balls with Cox remaining unbeaten on 86 off 29 deliveries, taking the team to a massive score of 226/4 at the end of the first innings. This score also entered the record books as the highest total in the tournament's history.

The Invincibles were already high on confidence with a huge total on the board and started well with the ball, with Jason Behrendorff making a breakthrough in the first ball of the innings. The left-arm seamer did not stop there as he also dismissed Smith in his second over with a bit of assistance from Cox, who took one of the best catches of the season to get the wicket of the Aussie legend. It was not the best of starts for the Welsh franchise as they ended the power play on a score of 38/2 after 25 balls. Despite the terrible beginning to their chase, Jonny Bairstow and Luke Wells formed a decent partnership in the middle to give themselves a chance. Unfortunately, as soon as the third-wicket stand started to look threatening, Rashid Khan got the wicket of Wells in his second over to ensure the Oval franchise still kept their dominance in the game. However, Bairstow did not give up as he formed another important partnership with Tom Kohler Cadmore, putting them in a slightly better position at 78/3 after 50 balls. While the equation was still close to impossible to achieve, the two batters kept the fight alive until Tom Curran got the Wicket of Bairstow straight after his half-century and followed it with a wicket of Paul Walter in the last delivery of the over. Green was dismissed in the next over by Sam Curran as Fire were suddenly in a precarious position at 125/6 after 75 deliveries. The game seemed done and dusted as Behrendorff returned for his final over to dismiss Saif Zaib, and Saqib Mahmood got the wicket of Cadmore, who was the last recognized batter for the Fire. In the end, it was Tom Curran who did the final rites by getting the final two wickets to complete his four-wicket haul. Welsh Fire were eventually bundled out for 143 as Invincibles maintain their undefeated streak against them with this massive 83-run win, which was also the highest victory margin for the franchise in the tournament.

Jordan Cox was awarded the player of the match for his incredible innings of 86, which included 10 sixes and three boundaries.