Oval Invincibles all but booked their place in The Hundred Final at Lord’s next Sunday, with a crushing victory over London Spirit in a one-side Bank Holiday clash at the Kia Oval.

Sam Billings’ team will be there, barring a run-rate miracle later this week, without the agonies of going through Saturday’s Eliminator, having won the toss and chosen to field against their London rivals.

Their day started on the back foot, as Jamie Smith launched into a habitual powerplay onslaught. He sent the first two balls of the match from Jason Berhrendorff to the boundary, but he was then out for 28 from the 20th ball of the innings, having faced 15 of them. The game never looked quite so easy after that, the highlights being a stunning one-handed catch from Will Jacks to get rid of Surrey teammate Ollie Pope from a Sam Curran slower ball, and rapid cameos from Jamie Overton and Ryan Higgins, who exactly matched Smith’s stats despite a slow start. The two put on a tournament-high sixth wicket stand of 54.

A total of 152 for 7 seemed a little below-par on a decent surface, but a first-baller for Tawanda Muyeye gave the Spirit hope. Then Jacks and Jordan Cox put on 64 in 35 balls, Jacks taking the lead with some clean striking, a 92-metre maximum over extra cover off Overton the standout moment of his 27-ball 45.

Sam Curran joined Cox, so often a profitable partnership this year, and they eased their way towards their target before the Spirit’s most successful bowler, Liam Dawson, tempted Curran with a wide one that he skied to point. Cox (47 from 27), the competition’s leading run-scorer, hit Overton for six and four before he was castled trying to ramp the same bowler.

But that merely brought in Donovan Ferreira who again showcased his muscular hitting, ending with 24 off 9 as the Invincibles booked their passage to the final (barring an almost impossible 200+ swing) by six wickets with 22 balls to spare.

Of his catch, Meerkat Match Hero Jacks said: “We were struggling to see the ball today, so I picked it up late, pure luck!”

And of the batting effort: “It felt brilliant with the bat, the wicket only got better as the lights came on and Coxy made it easy for me. We’ve been looking for that top spot, we know how important it is to get straight to the final and to be able to watch the two teams play the night before. We’ve still got things to improve on… but we’re looking forward to Sunday.”

Brief scores:
Oval Invincibles [Men]  153 for 4 in 78 balls (Jordan Cox 47, Will Jacks 45, Sam Curran 27, Donovan Fereira 24; Richard Gleeson 1-21, Jamie Overton 1-35, Liam Dawson 2-30) beat London Spirit [Men]  152 for 7 in 100 balls (Jamie Smith 28, David Warner 10, Kane Williamson 21, Ashton turner 19, Jamie Overton 31, Ryan Higgins 28; Jason Behrendorff 1-30, Tom Curran 2-27, Sam Curran 1-30,  Nathan Sowter 2-23) by six wickets

[Cricinfo]