Ferreira's late fireworks not enough as Invincibles fall short

Donovan Ferreira's blazing 15-ball 41 came too late and failed to rescue Oval Invincibles in their high-scoring clash against Northern Superchargers as they eventually fell 16 runs short of the total of the hosts at Headingley on Saturday.

Put in to bat, Superchargers made a terrific start with Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan blazing away to a 76-run stand for the opening wicket off only 39 balls. The attack, which had picked pace in the fourth set, accelerated in the fifth when Crawley thumped Sam Curran for three consecutive boundaries. The duo then combined to take apart Will Jacks and Nathan Sowter. Even as both departed in quick succession, Harry Brook ensured the tempo wasn't lost.

He took a special liking for Gus Atkinson and pummeled the pacer for two sixes and a boundary in the 13th set. He blazed away to a 27-ball 56 before toe-ending a slower ball to deep extra cover fielder. However, there was little respite for Invincibles David Miller slammed three sixes off consecutive deliveries by Tom Curran to finish with an unbeaten 16-ball 37.

In response, Invincibles also made a promising start. However, Will Jacks' early charge, which included three boundaries and a six, wasn't well supported by Tawanda Muwyeye. The latter struggled to keep up with the required rate before he was eventually dismissed off the 39th ball of the chase.

Nonetheless, Jordan Cox and Curran covered up for the lost pace. However, a flurry of dismissals and Sam Billings' inability to get a move on, had reduced them to 115 for 4 by the 71st ball. With 84 runs needed off the last 29 balls, the momentum had firmly shifted in favour of the hosts, but Invincibles didn't give up without a fight.

Ferreira clubbed Samit Patel for three boundaries and a six before taking down Jacob Duffy. By the time he was dismissed off the 88th balls, the requirements had dropped down to only 40 runs off 12 balls. Despite the efforts of Billings and Tom Curran, they struggled to threaten Superchargers from thereon, falling to only their second loss of the season, while retaining their top spot on the table.

Brief Scores: Northern Superchargers 198/4 in 100 balls (Harry Brook 56, Zak Crawley 59; Will Jacks 1-25) beat Oval Invincibles 182/7 in 100 balls (Donovan Ferreira 41, Sam Curran 30; Tom Lawes 2-22) by 16 runs