Oval Invincibles fast bowler Mohammad Amir started off The Hundred 2024 on fire, bowling a match-winning spell against Birmingham Phoenix at The Kia Oval yesterday (July 23).
Amir is playing only one match of this year's competition, standing in for Spencer Johnson for the opening match of this year's competition only. But while Amir's stint in The Hundred may be brief, he made a massive impact in the Invincibles' start to their title-defence.
After bowling his initial five-ball set, conceding five runs and taking no wickets, Saqib Mahmood took two wickets in the following set, before Amir got into the action. He took his first wicket with his seventh ball, drawing a hoik across the line from Dan Mousley which was edged in the air to Adam Zampa. Kept on from the same end to bowl his third set of five, Amir bowled a ball which went just past Moeen Ali's outside edge, before taking his outside edge with the following ball.
That was Amir's work done for the night, and pretty much the entire competition minus a bit of running in the field. He returned figures of 2-7 off 15 balls, and wasn't required to bat as the Invincibles chased down the 90 runs they were set with only two wickets down in 69 balls.
It wasn't just Amir's wickets that were impressive, but the number of dot balls he bowled. His first came off the third ball he bowled but in the ten consecutive balls he bowled in his following set, balls one, five, six, eight and ten were dots.
Amir previously played in The Hundred in 2021 for London Spirit, returning best figures of 2-34.
Follow Wisden for all ENG vs WI series updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
