# Manchester Originals

Manchester Originals are a franchise 100-ball cricket side based in the city of Manchester. The team represents the historic county of Lancashire in the newly founded The Hundred competition, beginning in the 2021 season, and playing at Old Trafford.

## History

The announcement of the new eight-team men's and women's tournament series in 2019 was not without controversy, with the likes of Virat Kohli criticising the England and Wales Cricket Board for pursuing a shift away from Test cricket, while others argued the format should have followed the established and successful Twenty20 format. The ECB, however, decided it needed a unique format to draw crowds.
It was announced in June 2019 that the side would be named the Manchester Originals, and would draw on players from Lancashire in the inaugural draft. It had been reported that other names such as the Manchester Bees and a Lancashire name were considered but rejected.
Other regions such as Surrey and Kent were required to amalgamate their Hundred sides, however, Lancashire was one of the few regions spared this controversy. Lancashire chief executive Daniel Gidney has however suggested this will serve as a handicap for the region rather than a benefit, arguing that the other merged regions will enjoy greater marketing powers and better coaching resources.
In July 2019 the side announced that former Lancashire and Australia batsman Simon Katich would be the team's first coach. Katich most recently coached Caribbean Premier League winners Trinbago Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the Indian Premier League. He is joined by Lancashire head coach Glen Chapple and assistant coach Mark Chilton.
The inaugural Hundred draft took place in October 2019 and with the Originals having claimed Jos Buttler as their England centrally-contracted player, and Kate Cross and Sophie Ecclestone the women's players, they were looking to build on their early picks. They were also joined by England internationals Matt Parkinson and Saqib Mahmood as local icon picks (players from their director county Lancashire).

## Honours
### Men's honours

The Hundred
* Runners-up: 2022, 2023

### Women's honours

The Hundred
* 5th place: 2021 (highest finish)

## Ground

The Originals play at the home of Lancashire Cricket Club, Old Trafford Cricket Ground, to the south of Manchester. The women's team had been due to also use Sedbergh School in Sedbergh, Cumbria for some matches but this plan was abandoned when both teams were brought together at the same ground as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Current squads

* Bold denotes players with international caps.
* * denotes a player who is unavailable for rest of the season.

### Women's side

| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||||
| 11 | Evelyn Jones | England | (1992-08-08) 8 August 1992 (age 32) | Left-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| — | Ella McCaughan | England | (2002-09-26) 26 September 2002 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| — | Seren Smale | England | (2004-12-13) 13 December 2004 (age 20) | Right-handed | — | |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 73 | Kathryn Bryce | Scotland | (1997-11-17) 17 November 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 88 | Alice Monaghan | England | (2000-03-20) 20 March 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| — | Deandra Dottin | West Indies | (1991-06-21) 21 June 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Overseas player |
| — | Amelia Kerr | New Zealand | (2000-10-13) 13 October 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Overseas player |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 10 | Beth Mooney | Australia | (1994-01-14) 14 January 1994 (age 31) | Left-handed | — | Overseas player |
| Pace bowlers |||||||
| 22 | Lauren Filer | England | (2000-12-22) 22 December 2000 (age 24) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 39 | Mahika Gaur | England | (2006-03-09) 9 March 2006 (age 19) | Right-handed | Left-arm medium | |
| Spin bowlers |||||||
| 19 | Sophie Ecclestone | England | (1999-05-06) 6 May 1999 (age 25) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Captain |
| 25 | Danielle Gregory | England | (1998-12-04) 4 December 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 31 | Fi Morris | England | (1994-01-31) 31 January 1994 (age 31) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
* ↑ Gaur has also played international cricket for the United Arab Emirates.

### Men's side

| No. | Name | Nationality | Date of birth (age) | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batters |||||||
| — | Heinrich Klaasen | South Africa | (1991-07-30) 30 July 1991 (age 33) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Overseas player |
| — | Ben McKinney | England | (2004-10-04) 4 October 2004 (age 20) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| All-rounders |||||||
| — | George Garton | England | (1997-04-15) 15 April 1997 (age 27) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast | |
| — | Lewis Gregory | England | (1992-05-24) 24 May 1992 (age 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| — | Rachin Ravindra | New Zealand | (1999-11-18) 18 November 1999 (age 25) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Overseas player |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 16 | Phil Salt | England | (1996-08-28) 28 August 1996 (age 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 21 | Matthew Hurst | England | (2003-12-10) 10 December 2003 (age 21) | Right-handed | — | |
| 63 | Jos Buttler | England | (1990-09-08) 8 September 1990 (age 34) | Right-handed | — | Captain; Centrally contracted player |
| Pace bowlers |||||||
| 13 | Tom Aspinwall | England | (2004-03-13) 13 March 2004 (age 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 24 | Josh Tongue | England | (1997-11-15) 15 November 1997 (age 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 44 | Scott Currie | Scotland | (2001-05-02) 2 May 2001 (age 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| — | Sonny Baker | England | (2003-03-13) 13 March 2003 (age 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| Spin bowlers |||||||
| 2 | Tom Hartley | England | (1998-05-03) 3 May 1998 (age 26) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| — | Noor Ahmad | Afghanistan | (2005-01-03) 3 January 2005 (age 20) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm unorthodox | Overseas player |

## Seasons
### Women's team

| Season | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Playoff stage | Playoff stage | Ref. |
| Season | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | Pos | Pld | Pos | Ref. |
| 2021 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5th | Did not progress | Did not progress | |
| 2022 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6th | Did not progress | Did not progress | |
| 2023 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 7th | Did not progress | Did not progress | |
| 2024 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6th | Did not progress | Did not progress | |

### Men's team

| Season | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Playoff stage | Playoff stage | Ref. |
| Season | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | Pos | Pld | Pos | Ref. |
| 2021 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 6th | Did not progress | Did not progress | |
| 2022 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2nd | 2 | 2nd | |
| 2023 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 2nd | 2 | 2nd | |
| 2024 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7th | Did not progress | Did not progress | |
Notes
* ↑ Manchester Originals men qualified for the eliminator in 2022. They played two matches, winning the playoff for the final against London Spirit by 5 wickets, losing in the final to Trent Rockets by 2 wickets.
* ↑ Manchester Originals men qualified for the eliminator in 2023. They played two matches, winning the playoff for the final against Southern Brave by 7 wickets, losing in the final to Oval Invincibles by 14 runs.