Sam Curran delivered a couple of ultra-slow 'moon balls' at the opening game of the 2025 Hundred between Oval Invincibles and London Spirit on August 5.
The men's and women's Hundred 2025 kicked off on August 5 with the first match between the Oval Invincibles and London Spirit at Lord's. London Spirit won the toss and elected to bat first in the men's game, boasting of David Warner and Kane Williamson in the top three.
But they never got going. Warner was out for nine off 10 balls, and Williamson for nine off seven as LS were reduced to 26-3 in 31 balls. Rashid Khan (3-11) and Sam Curran (3-20) then further dented LS, their combined six wickets helping bowl them out for 80 without completing their quota of 100 balls.
Curran's three wickets included those of Ashton Turner, Luke Wood, and Richard Gleeson. Two of those - Turner and Gleeson - came off very slow 'moon balls' that have now become a Curran trademark.
Turner was deceived by the lack of pace, his slog only managing to find Rashid Khan at deep mid-wicket while Gleeson was the last wicket to fall in the innings, bowled off a 47.1 mph ball that arrived well after he was already through his shot.
The Oval Invincibles needed only 69 balls to chase the 81-run target down, losing four wickets in the process. Will Jacks top-scored with 24 off 24, while Curran, batting at No.4, smashed three fours in a nine-ball cameo to add 14 to the total.
This is not the first time Curran has used the 'moon ball' to good effect. He employed the variation effectively on multiple occasions during the 2025 Vitality Blast earlier in the season as well.
Speaking after the Hundred game, Curran spoke to BBC, describing the variation: "The one I've been trying is almost just... let it float. I had a little bit of time with (Dwayne) Bravo 3-4 years ago in Chennai (Super Kings). He's obviously someone who's mastered it. He actually has an action where he goes over the top and it dips. Whereas I'm a bit more slingy.
"So I feel like you got to add something to your bowling or you're going to get caught out. But don't get me wrong. There's probably the next game I'll do it and I'll get smacked. So it's kind of... I guess it's just being fun and being in an environment that allows you to do things like that. I think it's really important."
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