Twitter Reactions: Matthew Parkinson spins Manchester Originals to maiden win in the Hundred

Manchester Originals, on Sunday, July 25, registered their maiden victory in the Men’s edition of The Hundred. The team, led by Jos Buttler, beat the Birmingham Phoenix by six wickets with as many as 27 balls to spare. They made a comeback after the nine-run loss against Oval Invincibles in the opener.

Parkinson too hot to handle for the Phoenix

After electing to bat first, the Phoenix could never get going and were shot out for 87 with 16 balls left in their innings. Moeen Ali top-scored with 15 and four others- Miles Hammond, Daniel Bell-Drummond, and Chris Cooke- got into double digits. However, none could carry on and convert.

Fred Klaasen got rid of Finn Allen in the second set of five balls after which the Phoenix’s innings fell apart. Matthew Parkinson stood out for the Originals as he picked up four wickets and conceded nine runs off 19 balls. Calvin Harrison and Carlos Brathwaite got two wickets each and lent Parkinson support.

All too easy for the hosts

In their run-chase, Phillip Salt and Jos Buttler stitched together a partnership of 32 runs for the opening wicket off 18 balls. Imran Tahir broke the stand, getting rid of Salt, who scored an 11-ball 22 with four fours. The Originals’ lost two more wickets quickly as Joe Clarke and Colin Munro perished early.

Buttler was a tad cautious as his 30 runs came at a strike rate of 96.77. He smashed four fours before Liam Livingstone rattled his woodwork. Tom Lammonby scored 16 off 15 to finish the formalities in the chase. For the Phoenix, Adam Milne was the only one, who didn’t get a wicket.

We didn’t get the runs: Moeen Ali

After the win, Originals’ skipper Buttler said that the bowlers got into the groove having gained experience in the first match. Moeen, the Phoenix captain, said that his team could have made the opponents work hard had they gotten a few more runs on the board.

“Delighted to get the win. Having played the first game, it gave you an idea of understanding the 5-ball slots and 10-ball slots. Obviously, with a lot of help for the bowlers, it was slightly easy to rotate the bowlers,” Buttler was quoted as saying.

“I thought the toss was big. We didn’t get the runs. 15-20 runs more, the game would have been interesting. Disappointed but wasn’t easy at the same time. I felt it’s a good wicket to sweep/reverse sweep. Everything else was difficult,” Moeen said.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Manchester Originals’ victory: